Oyako Onmitsu
by freakyanimegal
Summary: TOSxNaruto crossover. When Lloyd tried to send his father to Derris-Kharlan, something didn't go quite right.. So now he's stuck in the body of a five year old, with his father, until he can use the eternal sword again... And what the heck is Konoha? DONE
1. Chapter 1

**I love Tales of Symphonia, I love Naruto, I love KratosLloyd Oyako fluff, I love writing...this is the result. n.n'**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

"...Do you really have to go?"

The tall purple-clad man turned from before the pile of ivory rubble to face the speaker, a young man clad in red with his

face.

"...Yes, I must," he answered in a calm, deep voice.

"...Why?"

The taller figure flinched, having not expected this response from the brunette sword-wielder, not in the least.

"...If a half-elf of Cruxis remains here, the other half-elves will suffer," he stated, "as a surviving member of Cruxis, I must

bear the responsibility for what has happened."

"...I see," the teen muttered, his face falling.

"...It's time for me to go," he stated, "use that sword to send me to Derris-Kharlan."

"...All right," he whispered.

The teen held out his hand, a strange, glowing sword appearing from the air in his palm. He hesitated but a moment, before

his closed his eyes in acceptance.

"All right...goodbye..."

As the older man began to disappear, he couldn't stop the word from escaping his lips.

"...Dad.." he choked.

Kratos opened his eyes, expecting to find himself on the cold, lifeless world known as Derris-Kharlan, where he was to live

out his self-imposed exile. What he didn't expect was to find himself in the middle of a forest along with Noishe and

Lloyd...and he...certainly didn't expect Lloyd's little...alteration.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!"

Kratos flinched from the sudden burst of noise, his angelic eardrums more than taking the wrath of the scream that had

pierced the air.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!" the voice shrieked.

The Seraph could only gape in a numb shock at the voice's owner, a five year old little brunette boy, whom looked exactly

like Lloyd...

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" the child cried, gaping at his hands in horror.

"Lloyd-?" Kratos stared.

"Huh-? AH!" the boy almost fell over, "D- KRATOS!? What the-!? Since when did you get so tall?! What's going on!?"

"Lloyd, calm down-" he started.

"CALM DOWN!? WHAT THE HECK IS GOING-?!"

_I apologize, Master of the pact._

Both Kratos and Lloyd flinched, hearing the omnipotent 'voice' in their minds.

"Origin-? What happened?!" Lloyd cried, "I asked you to send him to Derris-Kharlan! Not to turn me into a little kid-!"

_Something went wrong._

"Noooo! REALLY!" he snapped, his little face flushing.

"Origin, what exactly has gone wrong?" Kratos asked calmly.

_Well...it is...I'm not sure if I should explain._

"Huh? Why not?" the boy huffed.

_You see...I take commands from the pact wielder, however...your voice told me one thing, but I received a stronger command from _

_your...well...heart._

"...What?" Lloyd stared.

_Your voice told me to send him, but your heart begged to be with him, that coupled with the word 'Dad' may have altered my _

_power to suit your true wishes, which I am not certain of, but..._

Lloyd blushed bright red, stammering somewhat as Kratos stared at him. His true wishes...Lloyd wanted to be with him...as

a child...? Was it...that he wanted to reclaim the years he lost...? It seemed so, but...but...

"I- I-! Well-!" Lloyd huffed. "Can't you fix it?!"

_I would if I could, however, there is a...problem._

"What problem!?"

_In your current state, your body doesn't have enough mana to supply such an action...thus, well..._

"...Wait...wait..." Lloyd paled, "you mean...we're stuck here-?"

_Until you reach your true age, then yes..._

Silence.

"YOU MEAN I'M STUCK HERE FOR LIKE, TEN YEARS!?"

_Ten, eleven...twelve, tops. _

"..." Lloyd fell over, gaping like the idiot he was into space.

_I'm sorry, but my connection is slipping, I will contact you when you are capable of using the Eternal Sword once more...good luck._

Lloyd sat there in a catatonic state for a good few minutes, Noishe sniffing him and whining before looking around. Kratos

himself was stunned at this information, after all, they were stranded...well, who knew where? He just knew it was neither

Sylvarant or Tethe'alla, based on the plant life and the fact the usual mana he'd be sensing...wasn't...really mana. It was like

mana, but...something else. That and...stuck here for ten years, with Lloyd...as a child...? From deep within him bubbled

something he could scarcely identify as...joy? He mentally berated himself. How could he find himself happy about this,

whereas Lloyd was...?

A loud bark distracted his thoughts, as Noishe whined and gestured up ahead through the forest. Kratos focused his

amazing senses and managed to see and hear what might be a town...

Well, it looked like it would be dark soon, and by no means could they be caught out in the woods at night, especially with

Lloyd in this state and without his weapon. It'd be best to head for the settlement and pray the locals were hospitable.

"...Lloyd."

Lloyd was still dazing off.

"Lloyd!" Kratos said loudly.

"H-huh-!? W-what-!?"

"Standing around here isn't going to help anything, we should find shelter."

"...R...right..." he nodded, "okay, let's go, Noishe- NOISHE!? Hey, where'd-!?"

The protozoan had ran off to who knows where, leaving the father and son to themselves as Lloyd began to yell about his

'dog' being a chicken.

"Man...this sucks," Lloyd whined.

"...There's a settlement in this direction," Kratos stated, "...let's go."

"Huh? All right..."

Kratos headed off silently, Lloyd following behind him. It wasn't long before the Seraph had to slow his steps for the

struggling 'toddler' to catch up with him, panting.

"...Are you fine walking?" Kratos asked.

"O-of course I-!" he huffed, "a-am! I'm g-" he coughed. "I'm fine!"

Kratos looked at his son, still disbelieving his eyes as pertaining to the boy's form. A child...like the one he had lost...and he

was tired, obviously...he knew that the boy couldn't keep up with him in this state, never...

"Lloyd,"

"W-what?" Lloyd huffed.

"Hold still."

"Huh? Why-? HEY! HEY! PUT ME DOWN!!"

Kratos had lifted Lloyd up and placed him on his shoulders, the boy flailing but to no avail as he found himself on a forced

piggy-back ride.

"HEY! I don't need to be carried!" he snapped.

"Be honest, Lloyd, you're exhausted."

"I am not!!"

"Don't shout, now be quiet, we don't know what's in these woods."

"...Grrr...fine..." he pouted, accepting his position.

Kratos, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, was ecstatic about being able carry his son like this, after so long...but no, he

shouldn't-...Wait, why not? He was his father, wasn't he? They were stuck here, together, weren't they? Wouldn't

they...wouldn't they have to stick together...as...family? The Seraph's throat tightened, and he forced his thoughts

elsewhere, they had more important matters right now. There was a faint sound near his ear and he turned his head to see

Lloyd's face, his eyes closed and a soft snoring escaping his little body. A rare smile spread over Kratos' face, delighted at

the sight of his peaceful looking child...

Rustle.

Kratos snapped to attention, looking around intently. A small, tiny sound...but a sound, it had been so...out of place, like

whatever made it was making an effort not to be noticed. Honestly, had it not been for his angelic hearing, he would've

overlooked it...

He scanned the area with all of his senses, focusing on pinpointing anything that might be considered a threat. With a jolt

he realized they, Lloyd in particular, were completely vulnerable...unless...

"...I know you're there, if you want something, show yourselves."

There was a silence, then in a large 'poof' similar to the way Sheena would make her appearance, several figures appeared

in front of him.

They were wearing odd uniforms Kratos assumed to be fit for combat, and were wearing masks shaped in the fashion of

animals. He was fully aware of the weapons they had hidden away, which caused his muscles to tense.

"You are intruding upon the territory of Konoha Village, state your name and business," one said, a male by the sound of it.

"...I apologize for the intrusion," Kratos bowed his head slightly, taking care not to take his eyes off them nor wake Lloyd,

"we are merely seeking shelter, we lost our way in these woods and have been trying to find help."

The people looked him over, taking in the foreigners appearance.

"Kakashi," one whispered to the lead, "what do you make of him?"

"He's got a kid with him..." a female said, "and he's unarmed."

"Could be some kinda trap."

"A trap? What 'trap' would wear such ridiculous clothes? If it was a trap, it wouldn't be so suspicious." another hushed.

"True, but his chakra level is...amazing...can't you sense that?"

"Yeah, it's a lot...almost as much as..."

"No, not 'almost', but it's close enough," another said.

"So what? Y'think some demon is disguising himself as a human?"

"Oooh, scary, Kyuubi no kitsune in a purple Halloween outfit."

"Shush, now seriously..."

Kratos, of course, heard all of this and made mental notes. First of all, this 'chakra' they were talking about...he assumed it

meant some sort of energy, so he made an effort to make his mana more difficult to read. Secondly, they called him a demon,

which mean there were most likely some powerful, mythical beings in this world, much like summon spirits. Lastly, there was

'Kyuubi no Kitsune'...if he was correct from what he knew of Mizuho's language (He knew a decent amount, in his years) it

meant something 'of fox'...if he was correct in assuming it was the same language...

"You," the one called 'Kakashi' said, "please state your full name."

Kratos was tempted to steal his son's line but a moment, but he figured there was a time and place for such things, and this

was neither.

"My name is Kratos Aurion." he stated.

"I see, and who is the boy?"

"My son, Lloyd." he stated.

For a brief moment he pondered if it was wise to admit to Lloyd being his child, for it had bad consequences for the boy in

the past, but...

"Where are you from?"

He had no answer for that. It was obvious they were no longer on their own planet, so to mention such would only arouse

suspicion.

"Well?"

"...Is it important for you to know?"

"Yes."

"...I'm afraid I cannot answer that," he stated coolly.

"Oh? Why not?" Kakashi asked, some tension in his voice.

"Because it most likely has never been heard of in these parts."

"Try us."

Kratos' glare intensified, the Anbu getting a vibe of the Seraph's killing intent as they felt their hands poise above their

weapons, both visible and concealed.

"Mmmff...wha...?"

Kratos visibly flinched as Lloyd stirred on his shoulders, blinking groggily. The ninja hesitated a minute, realizing that the boy

on the man's back had awaken.

"Uhm...huh? What happened-? HUH? Who're they!?" he yelped.

"Lloyd," Kratos whispered, "keep quiet."

"But what's going on?! Who are they!?" he cried.

It was then that Kakashi hatched one of his 'see meanings in the meanings', otherwise known as his 'mess with your mind'

plans. He signaled a few things to his comrades in a form of sign language used exclusively in the ANBU at high speed and

then nodded. The group turned their attention to the Aurions. Kratos jolted aside just as one of the onmitsus appeared

behind him, Lloyd letting out a yelp as his father evaded the pursuer.

"What the-!?" Lloyd cried.

Kratos managed to weave in and out and around the onmitsu as they attempted to grab them with fluid grace even the

high-ranked ninja were impressed with. Just who WAS this guy!? However, it was then that Kakashi attempted to get at him

himself, only for Kratos' foot to swiftly collide into his gut. The copy-nin went into a short second of shock at the speed of the

attack, seeing as he didn't even have enough time for a substitution. That's it, it was time to stop messing around. They

were taking this freaky outsider down, NOW.

"AAH!"

Kratos cursed as he found himself surrounded and in an attempt to evade them he felt shock wash over him. A horrible,

dreaded feeling he remembered all to well, like on that day that...that...

"No-!"

The ninja had grabbed Lloyd.

"HEY! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!" Lloyd cried.

"You...!" Kratos hissed, his voice venomously deadly.

"Make a move, we kill the boy," one ninja said.

Kratos growled, teeth bared as his eyes flashed death at them all. The ninja holding Lloyd turned out to be Kakashi, if he

identified the voice correctly.

"This is your son?" he asked.

Kratos nodded curtly, glaring.

"Oh really? Kid, is he your Dad?"

"Wh-what?! What kinda question is that!?"

"Is he?" the ninja said sternly.

"...Yeah..." Lloyd muttered, still not fully comfortable with the fact.

"Oh? You don't sound like he is."

"But he-! AH! What the-!?"

Lloyd paled, finding a sharp object at his neck, a kunai knife.

"Lloyd-!" Kratos started.

"How about this...we'll let one of you live, just one of you, as a punishment for trespassing, now...will you die? Or..."

Kakashi pressed the knife closer, Lloyd sweating.

"Or will he?"

"Get that thing away from him," Kratos stated immediately, "take my life if you so wish, but...don't hurt him...I..."

Lloyd's wide, fear-stricken brown eyes looked at him, helplessly, as they had all those years ago. Kratos almost lost his

strength to stand, his mind flashing back to...then...he had been useless to save his love, and he had lost his child...he

would never...ever let that happen again... Kratos slowly did something that shocked his son beyond all belief, the Seraph

got down onto his hands and knees, head hung low.

"...I beg of you..." he whispered.

"...Dad..." Lloyd whimpered, eyes tearing up.

"...Well! That settles that!"

Before Lloyd could asked, Kakashi had gently placed him on the ground and put away his weapon, whistling cheerfully.

"W-what the-?! WAIT! What's going on!?" Lloyd cried.

"That proves he's the kid's dad," Kakashi said to the group, "if he says he's trying to find shelter for his kid, I damn well

believe him."

"..." Kratos looked at him, expressionless.

"W-wait! So you mean that was a test?!" Lloyd shouted.

"Hey, smart kid," Kakashi laughed, "I guess you could say that..."

"WHY YOU JERK I OUGHTTA-!"

Kakashi simply smiled behind his mask as Kratos held his son back, preventing the brunette from 'smashing the freak's mask

into his skull'.

"We'll take you to our village, our leader will decide what to do with you there."

"...Thank you," Kratos stated simply.

"YOU'RE STILL A JERK YOU-!" Lloyd ranted.

"Spirited tike, isn't he?" Kakashi commented.

"I'M NOT A TIKE!"

"Lloyd, calm down," Kratos stated calmly.

"CALM DOWN!? After he just?! ARGH!"

Kratos sighed as he got to his feet, picking his still protesting child up and setting him on his shoulders as he turned to face

the Anbu whom had been watching with amusement.

"I must say, Kratos-san, you did pretty damn good for some random guy against five ANBU...that'd be elite ninja, if you're

not familiar with the phrase..."

"...I had some experience in combat," Kratos stated simply.

"Some?" Kakashi stated flatly, rubbing his gut to accent the word.

"...I would apologize, but after you threatened my son..."

"All right, all right, I deserved it..." the nin rolled his eyes behind the mask, "...well, come on, we'll take you to the village."

Kratos' eyes locked on the onmitsu's back as he turned, all the while Kakashi frowned under his mask. This Kratos guy was

definitely more than he seemed...

It was only several more minutes through the woods when they came into view of the village hidden in the leaves, Konoha.

Lloyd gaped up at the walls, having only seen such in Meltokio before this, and finding his attention drawn to the mountain

in the back which appeared to have faces carved into it.

"Wow, Dad!" Lloyd gasped. "Check that out!"

"..." Kratos examined it briefly, then went back to following Kakashi.

The father-son pair walked through Konoha behind the Anbu and in front of a couple others, sandwiching them in to keep

them from doing anything funny. The little entourage earned the stares of many a villager, not only because of the platoon

on elite-nin, but the strangely-clad man walking in between them with the toddler perched atop his shoulders. Lloyd was all

but in awe, amazed by the strange looking buildings and signs that made up the village streets. That and the people

walking by with headbands with some kind of marking on them and vests, they seemed strange...

"Hey, Dad! Look over there!" Lloyd grinned, pointing at a place called 'Ichirakus'. "They sell some kinda food there! Could we

get some later? It smells really good."

"Perhaps later," he said, keeping alert for anything suspicious...that wasn't them.

After a minute he spoke up.

"So where exactly are we going?" he asked.

"To the Hokage, our village leader," Kakashi stated, "he'll be the one deciding what to do with you two...and by the way, did

you see a large eared dog-like thing while you were in there? Green and white?"

"That's N-!" Lloyd started

Kratos covered his mouth.

"Yes we did, actually...why, did it cause any damage?"

"No, it's just creatures like that are very...strange, even around here," Kakashi stated, "would you happen to know anything

about it? Hm?"

Kratos didn't answer.

"All right then," the ninja sighed, "the Hokage office is up ahead..."

As they continued to travel through the village with Lloyd observing from his father's shoulders, his short attention somehow

caught on a person. As they passed an alleyway this kid looked at them. He was about Lloyd's (new) age, a kid with a

messy mop of brilliant blond hair and wide blue eyes. What maybe drew his attention were the marks on his cheeks that

looked like whiskers...and the way he was looking at them. Everyone they had passed had sent a look of suspicion and

curiosity, fear, even, as a result of Kratos' intimidating stature. This little one looked curious, yes, but also...what kind of look

was that? The kid looked sad...but...Lloyd didn't know, there was just this look in his eyes that looked...hopeful? Yet at the

same time the kid looked as if he was expecting someone to hit him any moment, by the way he kept flinching and glancing

around. When the blond noticed Lloyd's focus, he yelped and ran off as if had been caught doing something wrong... The

brunette frowned.

"...Dad, who was that kid?" he whispered to Kratos.

"..." he frowned.

"Well, here we are."

They had arrived at the office.

**Well, I did it. n.n Now that Legend of Kratos? Is over...I had to put this up, the plot bunnies wouldn't leave me alone. **

**Oh, speaking of which...I'll have LOK 2 up soon, as soon as Plot Twist is done...n.n' don't worry. Right...this takes place **

**seven years before Naruto makes genin, so he's five (Lloyd's age) and I only know what the show tells me, so I know **

**Kakashi was an ANBU in the past so a lot of things may be off...n.n' But I'm telling you, Kratos COULD hold his own **

**against five ANBU. He's been alive for four-thousand years fighting so he is fast, he is strong, and he's got reflexes like **

**hell. I mean, watch the OVA, see how he freaking SLAUGHTERS Sheena? Sheena's a ninja too, so he's no doubt a match **

**for one...and that was him HOLDING BACK...O.O Holy crap...Er, anyway...n.n' Review if you feel like it. n.n**


	2. New Here

**Hi guys! Welcome to chapter two! n.n Now...muse try outs! Sklee! n.n Hm...who should it be...I'll go with...heck, old **

**man Hokage, get your butt up here.**

**Sarutobi: Me? Well...if you insist...**

**Me:...Then again, you're kinda boring...unless you're looking at porn that is...**

**Sarutobi: GASP! How could you ever say such a thing?! **

**Kratos:...You have a book called 'Make-Out Paradise' behind your back...**

**Sarutobi: Oh shit...**

**Me: Bust-ed. All right, old timer! Say the disclaimer!**

**Kratos: All right-**

**Me: I meant the one who's PHYSICALLY an old-timer.**

**Sarutobi: Nyeh. Freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**Me: Oh, and sorry about screwing up the Anbu...I didn't know they wouldn't be that talkative...My bad, I'm sorry...--'**

**Sarutobi: Well, it's not a mistake if you learn from it.**

**Me: Yeah...thanks. n.n Let's get on with the fic!! **

**New Here**

Sarutobi was not a particularly suspicious man by nature, he was usually willing to give people a chance...sometimes too

many chances, granted. However, even he couldn't help but stare at the strangers Kakashi's group had brought in from

patrol. Especially the tall one. His chakra level was...off the charts, really, yet somehow he got the feeling it was being

suppressed... It had to have been his imagination, no mortal being had chakra levels like that...with the exception of one,

maybe... Still, even if it wasn't for the chakra the outfit enough was enough to raise an eyebrow or two. It looked like some

exotic outfit from one of Jiraiya's ...'adult' books... Hm, perhaps he should make a sketch and send it in to the perv. If he

could make some money off of it maybe he could get a cut... He shook his head, back to business.

"So...you are?" the old Hokage asked.

"He says his name is Kratos Aurion," Kakashi stated, "the kid's name is Lloyd. Kratos-san claims they got lost in the woods

surrounding the village."

"Oh?" Sarutobi raised his brow. "And where might you be from, Kratos-san?"

"...In all honesty, I'd rather not say."

"You really wouldn't believe us."

The Hokage blinked and then looked down, having overlooked the red-clad child in favor of examining his father. The boy

had his father's face, it was obvious, even in his youth, however...he didn't seem to have any of his mannerisms.

"Oh?" he asked the boy.

"Er...well...you wouldn't," he stammered, glancing around.

"...Try me," the man smiled.

"..." Lloyd paled, glancing up at his father nervously as the Seraph attempted not to turn and scold his son for opening that

big mouth of his.

"...Um...we're from a place called Sylvarant, er, well it used to be... It used to be two separate worlds but now it's the two

places, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla put together..." he trailed.

Silence.

"Ahahahaahh!" Sarutobi laughed, tears in his eyes. "Ah, children, such imaginations..."

"H-hey-! I'm not-!!"

Kratos interrupted.

"Yes, I know." he stated.

"Hey-!!"

"Now, where are you from, _really_?" Sarutobi glared.

Kratos glared back, an instinct gnawing at the back of his head... This elderly man wasn't as frail as he appeared, quite the

contrary...if he got serious, they could be in trouble... What could he say, though? What would the man believe? Obviously

he didn't become the head ninja for being gullible...

"I regret to tell you that either I can not answer, or you will believe whatever I say to be a lie," he stated, "that is the truth."

"...I see...now tell me...what were you doing in our territory?"

"..."

Kratos and Sarutobi locked glares, all the ninja in the room tensing at the violent killing intent shaking through the air.

Kakashi was impressed. He had never seen anybody hold his own against the Hokage like that...well, aside from his teacher

maybe, but other than that it was pretty hard to come across someone of that stature...

"...I am afraid I cannot say, however, I swear on my life that I have not come with any intent to harm anyone in this village,"

Kratos said finally, "I wanted only to protect my child, and I presumed to be wandering in the woods during the night would

be far more dangerous than in a settlement. If we are not welcome here we shall move on, surely... I just ask you allow us

to stay within the village gates for the night, please..."

"He cares about his kid," Kakashi spoke up, "Hokage-sama, I honestly believe he just wants to take care of Lloydie-boy-"

"Don't call me that!!"

"Right Lloydie-boy, at any rate Lord Hokage, we rooted him out before bringing him here of course. Kratos-san only cares

about his son," Kakashi finizhed.

Lloyd blushed brightly at the mention of this and looked away, folding his arms across his little chest.

"Oh? And how did you discover that?" Sarutobi asked.

"Er...well, sir..."

Kakashi went on to explain the situation of their meeting, surprising the old man.

"He evaded all five of you?" he asked.

Kakashi and the four Anbu with him fidgeted, embarrassed.

"...Kicked me in the gut too...hard..." Kakashi admitted.

"Well now...I'm impressed," the Hokage smirked, "...Kratos-kun."

"Hm?" the man nodded.

"...You obviously are quite skilled in combat, outmaneuvering five Anbu is not an easy nor very common feat...tell me, Kratos-

kun, where are you and Lloyd-chan planning on going once you leave here?"

"..." Kratos frowned.

"Uh..." Lloyd 'dur'ed.

"We...don't have a set destination," Kratos admitted.

"...You don't look like you have much cash on you either, I'd wager..."

"Hey!" Lloyd snapped.

"...Kratos-kun, I have a proposal for you." Sarutobi smiled kindly.

"...And what would that be?"

"If you and your child have no place to go, we would gladly adopt you into our village-"

"H-hokage-sama-!!" a Chunin by his side started.

"If, however...you meet some conditions."

"...And what would those be?" Kratos asked coolly.

"Swear an oath of loyalty to the village and the protection of it's people, and...of course, you'll be expected to do something

else in return..." he smirked.

"Such as?" Kratos hissed.

"If you're truly as good as my Anbu say you are...I would like you to undertake missions for our village." he said.

"Missions? What're those?" Lloyd asked.

"Tasks, jobs, of sorts...that can be somewhat...tough," Sarutobi smiled.

"...Your ninjas are for hire? Mercenaries?" Kratos asked.

"Hey! That's perfect!" Lloyd grinned. "You're a 'mercenary' after all, Dad..."

Kratos glared at Lloyd and he slapped his hands over his mouth.

"Oh? Hm, somehow I'm not surprised... Well then, Kratos-kun, you know full well what I'm talking about," the old man

smiled, sitting down in his chair once more, "nothing important right off the back, of course...but once you prove your

trustworthiness I daresay we could make use of someone of your talents."

"...So if I take you up on this..."

"Then you both are welcome to call this place home," he smiled kindly.

"Really? We can live here?! Cool!!" Lloyd grinned, excited (as usual).

"...What of Lloyd? If I perform these missions for you-"

"Don't worry, there's an excellent daycare center...and a school, now that I think of it. There are many children in the village

his age...I swear to you we'll take good care of him whenever you're not around."

"Hey! I can take care of myself!" Lloyd said immediately.

The Hokage chuckled, "Of course you can, Lloyd-chan..."

"What the FUCK does 'chan' mean?!"

There were several gasps.

"...Lloyd..." Kratos growled.

"...Uh...oops..."

Sarutobi stared open-mouthed, shocked.

"...W-well...quite a...vocabulary, he has, huh...?"

"Lloyd-" Kratos started.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry-!!" Lloyd cried. "I'm sorry, sir!!"

Kratos sighed, "...He didn't get that from me, I assure you..."

"A-ah...w-well..." the Hokage coughed, "...'chan' means little one, little one-"

"Hey! I'm not little!!"

"Aren't they adorable? Children are so precious," he smiled.

"I'm NOT!!"

Thus the conversation dredged on, stuff about where they would be arranged to live, what Kratos would be ranked once

proven loyal, how they would get the council to agree...it went on and on. Lloyd, of course, ...was bored. The kid sat on a

chair to the side of the room as his father and the wrinkly guy kept talking and talking, looking at various paper work and

stuff... Boring! He thought something fun would've happened by now...but then, it's not like he could expect they'd get in

and out easy...

"...Tired, kid?" Kakashi asked. "It's getting late and all..."

"I'm not a kid, dammit!!"

Of course, he really shouldn't have been talking to the child, it would be smarter to listen in on the older stranger.

However...he doubted he'd get much information about their origins out of spiky (as he had dubbed him) whereas the child

seemed to have a loose tounge...

"Oooh..." he tsked, "dirty mouth you've got...you should be happy, kid. It looks like you and your Dad are going to be able to

stay here. I mean...you needed a place to stay, right? I'm judging from what you've said and all..."

"...Yeah," Lloyd admitted, "we need a place to live...but I guess this is good then, huh? Is this place nice to live in?"

"Well...personally I like it," he smiled softly under his mask, "you probably will too... Though looking at you I don't think the

teachers will like your language..."

Lloyd flinched.

"You mean I have to go to school!?"

"Well...of course," Kakashi shrugged.

"Aw man! Are you kidding...?" he whined.

"Well, kids go to school, kid... Then, you could go to the ninja academy..."

Now THAT didn't sound boring.

"Huh-!? You mean I could...learn to be a ninja?! Seriously!? COOL!"

Kakashi laughed, "Well, I see that caught your interest..."

"So I could learn all that cool kung fu stuff and that poofing thing?"

"...First off, never EVER call it 'kung fu'," Kakashi said, "it's taijutsu, got it? ...And yeah, you can learn to do the 'poofing

thing' as you so call it..."

"Oh, right right...but seriously! A ninja! AWESOME!!"

The grin on the boy's face struck a bit of deja vu with the sharingan user, but he quickly pushed it aside to check up on the

current conversation topic... Thinking about his deceased Uchiha friend wasn't going to help anything...

"Then it's all settled," Sarutobi smiled, nodding his head, "anything you care to add? Questions? The lot?"

Kratos shook his head.

"I believe everything is in order."

"Excellent...you," the Third pointed at Kakashi.

"Sir." he nodded.

"I need to speak with your privately, would you all please wait outside?"

Kratos nodded politely and picked up the protesting 'tot', the remaining ninja in the room escorting him toward the door.

"Kratos-kun, I ask you wait at the entrance," Sarutobi said, "we'll have someone come by to take you to your lodgings for

the night."

"I thank you," he responded politely, following the other four Anbu outside.

"Take care, Lloyd-chan," Sarutobi smiled.

"Stop calling me chan!!"

Once they were gone Kakashi frowned under his mask, curious as to what the old man had in store for him. After a minute...

"Kratos-kun and Lloyd-chan are to stay at your home tonight. We'll find proper lodging for them tomorrow," he stated,

"Clear?"

Oh, that was what...

"W-what? At my house, Hokage-sama? But-" he stammered.

"Consider it a mission," he said.

The look the old man gave him at the moment was stern, giving the sharingan-user the feeling the mission was to watch

them...and closely. Kakashi nodded.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Find out anything you can about them, the child seems kind enough and I believe Kratos-kun does want his best

interest...however, we cannot guess blindly. See what you can dig up about them while they stay at your home."

"Yes sir." he nodded.

"Excellent!" he smiled. "Now, I'll see you tomorrow."

Kakashi sighed as he went to change into his street clothes...

POOF!

"OH!"

Kakashi chuckled at Lloyd's reaction when he appeared before the duo outside the building, wearing his jounin garb instead

of his Anbu wear. For this 'mission' of sorts, he'd have to try to keep them from knowing he had met them already-

"Hello there," he eye-smiled, "you two must be-"

"Huh? But we've met you already," Lloyd said.

Kakashi twitched. What? How did he know? He could've sworn he was disguising his voice when he was talking earlier...

"Huh? I don't know what you're-"

"You're the guy that grabbed me! Liar!" Lloyd pointed.

"...Please drop the act, it's insulting," Kratos stated coolly.

Shit...

"...Fine," he sighed, "but how did you-?"

"With that hair-style?! C'mon!" the kid shouted.

There was a silence.

"...Well, you're actually smarter than you look, Lloyd-chan."

"Stop calling me CHAN!!" Lloyd cried.

"Right," he laughed, "at any rate...my name is Kakashi Hatake."

"Kaka-...swee...hot taco?" Lloyd blinked.

Kratos sighed and Kakashi shook his head.

"Okay...you're NOT smarter than you look..."

"HEY!" Lloyd roared

"Kid's grumpy, huh?" Kakashi asked.

"I'M NOT A KID!!"

The copy-nin rubbed his ear tenderly, amazed at the set of pipes in the little body. Kratos sighed and lifted Lloyd unto his

shoulders again, immediately divulging squeals of protest from the brunette child.

"You're tired, Lloyd," he stated, "go to sleep, I'll carry you."

Lloyd twitched.

"I don't need you to carry me! And I'm not-!"

He was cut off by a loud yawn.

"..." Kratos blinked.

"...Darn you," he mumbled, snuggling into his hair for a pillow.

"..."

"...Loud punk, isn't he? Well...follow me, it's not far."

This was going to be...interesting.

--

It was morning the following day when Lloyd found himself with his face in a pillow, covers pulled up to his chin that were

decorated in shuriken (not that he knew what they were). He blinked his brown eyes a minute before looking up and taking

in the room. It was pretty plain, really, small...but there were a few pictures here and there. Must be the guy who took them

here's bedroom... Wait! Where was his D-?! Lloyd jolted upright, looking around frantically.

"Woah, chill out, kid."

There was a custom 'poof!' as Kakash appeared in the room, his visible eye amused.

"H-huh-? What the-!?"

"Good morning!" he chirpedd. "I tell you, Lloydie-boy, you sure snore a lot for a little guy..."

Lloyd twitched violently.

"...Huh, you're not yelling..."

"...I give up," he sighed.

"Right... Hey! Kratos-san! Kid's up!"

Not a second after he had said that Kratos had appeared in the doorway, a strained, yet soft smile directed at his child once

he saw he was indeed awake.

"...Did you sleep well?" he asked.

Lloyd nodded slowly, "Yeah-...Dad, what're you wearing?"

"Hm? ...Ah..."

Kratos frowned, looking down at his new attire.

"Well, he couldn't keep wearing those purple ones, kid," Kakashi said, "it'd attract way more attention then any of us need."

The auburn-haired Seraph was wearing standard uniform pants and sandals, a plain black shirt that he had borrowed from

Kakashi on his torso. It was odd to see Kratos without his trademark swallow-tailed cloak and gauntlets, and there wasn't a

single belt on him... Not to mention the sandals threw it for a loop.

"Your clothes are okay, though," Kakashi said, "t-shirt and shorts...yep, that fits, though you might want to get some

sandals in place of those boots you were wearing. They just don't...wear those here. They just don't."

"...What time is it?" Lloyd asked, looking for a clock.

"Hm...well..." Kakashi chuckled, "lunchtime."

"..." Kratos sighed.

"...Sounds about right," Lloyd grinned, "what's for lunch?"

Kakashi burst out laughing and Kratos sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I think I may like this kid, sure he's yours?" Kakashi eye-smiled.

"Hmph," Kratos snorted.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're hungry because lunch is done already," the ninja smiled, "after you eat, I'll give you a little tour

around the village."

"We thank you for having us here, Kakashi-san," Kratos bowed his head politely.

Lloyd, of course, was clueless, but decided to ask what 'san' meant later...after all, he didn't quite like what 'chan'

met...though it was better than 'Lloydie-boy'-

"Well, up and at 'em Lloydie-boy!"

"I hate you," Lloyd glared.

Anyway, it was a couple hours after that when Lloyd found himself looking up at the ninja academy, Kratos examining it as

Kakashi laughed.

"Right, this is the alternative Lloyd-chan can have to regular schooling...learning to be a ninja, which, being a ninja village, is

always an employable choice..." he smiled, "however, it can be a tad dangerous so if he's scared-"

"I can fucking take care of myself, dammit!" Lloyd shouted.

"Words, Lloyd, words," Kratos stated blandly.

"...Oh, sorry, Dad..." he muttered.

"Boy is he a foul mouth..." Kakashi chuckled, "anyway, the school term here started a couple weeks ago...but we can

manage to squeeze him in probably, if you two are fine with this...or of course, there's regular school-"

"Can I be a ninja?! Please?!" Lloyd blurted, staring at his father.

"..."

Kratos thought this over. While he was certain Lloyd could take any kind of combat, the fighting style here was completely

different from his dual sword style...but Lloyd DID seem interested...and the very few things that kept his interest that long

he usually succeeded at... Besides, it would be a good idea if he learned the fighting style if they were to live here, he

himself was curious about the 'jutsus' mentioned by the Hokage and intended to look into them later... Hm...

"...If you slack off, I'll put you in a normal school, understood?"

Lloyd paled.

"S-sure! Whatever! Just don't make me go to a real one..." he shuddered.

Silence.

"Besides, I so gotta learn that poofing thing!!"

Kratos sighed and Kakashi laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Right, well...hm? Well, class should be getting out about now..." he trailed, "now here's an idea, why don't you hang around

and introduce yourself to some of them, Lloydie-boy? If they're going to be your classmates and all-"

"Why would I want to introduce myself to a bunch of five year olds...?" he muttered under his breath, annoyed.

"Hm?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't say anything," Lloyd lied, "I-...hey! Look! Here they come!"

From the entrance began spilling hoards of will-be shinobi, varying from ages five to twelve, Lloyd looked over them all and

couldn't help but feel annoyed. He didn't want to hang around with a bunch of kids...though some of them were Genis' age,

they'd probably not like a five year old following them around-... Wait... The last kid coming out...that blond kid with the

whiskers...

"...Hey, Kakashi? Who's he?" Lloyd pointed.

"Hm?"

The blond child was keeping a fair distance away from the lot of them, looking over his shoulder every few seconds with a

squirrel-like motion, jumpy and fearful. After a moment he slowly shied away from the group of his peers, heading off on his

own to a swing on a tree in the schoolyard...

"...Naruto," he said simply.

"...Why does he look so sad...?" Lloyd whispered.

"Ah, well...no one really takes the time to talk to him...at all..."

Lloyd flinched.

"What? Why not?" he snapped.

"Well...you see, they have a reason..."

"Well what did he do?"

"...Nothing," he sighed.

"...You mean everyone ignores him...for nothing?"

"Well-"

Lloyd dashed off.

"W-what? Hey-! Oh boy...I'm gonna get in trouble for this..." Kakashi sighed.

"...He's the jinchuuriki, am I right?" Kratos asked coolly.

Kakashi flinched.

"How-?"

"The Hokage told me about the Kyuubi incident, seeing as it was widespread information in the village he deemed it

necessary I know such. He didn't tell me whom the child was, but judging by his age and attitude...I would assume that boy

to be it, am I wrong?" Kratos asked coolly.

"...Yeah, but-"

"I won't say anything further," he interrupted, "he already forbade me from telling Lloyd, not that I had intention to."

"...So...you're not going to stop Lloyd-chan?"

"..." Kratos closed his eyes, smirking slightly, "I doubt Lloyd will hate him, it's difficult for him to truly dislike anybody, really..."

"Oh?" the Anbu raised an eyebrow.

Meanwhile, Lloyd had followed Naruto as the blond perched onto his swing, looking on at his peers with distant, sad eyes...

Then Lloyd popped up.

"Hey there! What's your name?"

The blond fell out of his seat.

"O-ow-!" he cried.

"Woah, sorry about that..." Lloyd laughed, blushing, "you okay...?"

"...Er...yeah, I'm fine," he said, glancing around nervously.

"...I'm new here, my name's Lloyd," he stuck his hand out.

New? The word rang in Naruto's mind. A new person!? Then...then that must mean this person didn't hate him!

Maybe...maybe he could make him like him before someone told him he was bad! A new guy!

"Uh...hello?" Lloyd waved a hand in front of his face.

"I...I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" he blurted. "Believe it!"

"Heheh," Lloyd grinned, "nice catchphrase."

Naruto gave him a blank look.

"You know...a...nevermind," he sighed, "you looked kinda lonely over here..."

The boy's face fell again.

"...Hey, you can hang out with me if you want," Lloyd smiled.

"...Really...?" he whispered, disbelieving his senses.

"Yeah, really," he nodded, "though we should tell your parents I guess-"

Naruto looked as if he was about to break down in tears.

"...You, uh...do...have parents...?" he trailed.

"No, Naruto's an orphan,"

"Huh-? Hey, Kakashi! Don't sneak up on me like that!" he huffed.

"Sorry," the copy-nin shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well you should be-..." Lloyd's eyes went wide, "...orphan..."

Naruto had backed up a few steps, wary of the taller stranger. The older ones were always the worst to him...and he had

seen this one around before, so there wasn't a chance of him being 'new', so no chance of him being nice as this Lloyd

person was... Then another one showed up. This one had spiky red hair and looked a lot like Lloyd...was this person his

father? Was he 'new' too...? Would he hit him, or tell Lloyd to get away from him?

"...He seems a little skiddish, if I'm not mistaken..." he trailed.

Naruto's eyes darted between the two tall ones, readying himself to run in one if them tried to hit him. So far, though...they

hadn't... That was strange...

"Well...yes, you can imagine why, though..." Kakashi sighed.

"...I see," Kratos stated.

"...Hey, are you all right?" Lloyd asked the blond. "You're shaking..."

"No I'm not!" he snapped. "I'm not scared! I'm not!"

"Scared? Who said anything about being scared?" Lloyd's eyes narrowed.

"...Naruto...er...usually is nervous around people..." Kakashi trailed.

Click.

"YOU MEAN THEY BEAT HIM!?"

Kakashi went wide-eyed, stunned at how the toddler understood what it meant. Most children wouldn't get something like

that... Then of course, he had been getting the feeling Lloyd wasn't like 'most children' for a while...

"H-how...?"

"...This child suffers neglect and abuse...?" Kratos' eyes narrowed.

"W-well..."

Lloyd stared at him a moment, then at Naruto, and then he stared at Kakashi some more...then he clenched his fists.

"You...and you do it!?"

"What? No, I-" he started.

"Then you let it happen!? You LET him go through that!?"

"Well-"

"Do you or don't you?!" he roared.

There was a silence as Kakashi observed the brunette, feeling the glare of his father to the side, then of course...the slight

whimpering that was coming from the blond child. ...Minato's child, his sensei's child... Not that they needed to know that.

"...I'm usually the one saving him, actually..." he muttered.

"Saving...?" Lloyd gaped in horror. "Then...Naruto- Huh? Naruto!!"

The blond had taken off running, frightened and...ashamed, by the shouting and conversation taking place around him as he

was, once again, ignored... He couldn't stand being talked about and ignored...not that that mattered. It was still what had

happened to him each and every day...every...single...day...

"Naruto-!" Lloyd made a move to chase after him.

"Hold it," Kakashi grabbed the back of his shirt, "if you chase him right now he'll think you're going to hurt him...if you want

to talk to him, do it later..."

"...He'll think I'll..hurt him...?" Lloyd repeated.

"..." Kratos frowned.

"...You BASTARD!" the boy roared up at Kakashi.

"Lloyd-" Kratos started, wary of the people the area.

"How can you just let people do stuff like that!? Doesn't anyone in this village care about him at all!?" the boy cried.

"..." Kakashi sighed.

"Don't sigh at me you ass-!"

"All right, that's enough," he stated, "a kid like you shouldn't be using such language, I understand why you're angry, but

yelling at your elders-"

"Oh bull! What are you, like...eighteen?"

"Nineteen," he corrected.

"Hah! You're only like two ye-"

Kratos had picked Lloyd up, covering his mouth.

"...Two...'ye'...?" Kakashi asked slowly.

"I think he got too riled up, perhaps it's nap time."

"Mmf-!" Lloyd protested, glaring at his father.

"Uh-huh...y'know, Lloyd-chan here acts a lot older than a little guy..."

"Unorthodox, isn't it? Let's continue on," he replied coolly.

"...Speaking of age, how old are you, Kratos-san?"

"Twenty-eight," he lied.

"Mmmph! MFF!" Lloyd yelled, trying to pry the hand off his mouth.

"...I see..." Kakashi's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Lloyd stopped struggling, too interested at the glares his father and the ninja were exchanging with each other. This

Kakashi guy had guts, NO ONE looked at his Dad like that, except maybe him and Yuan...

"Is something wrong?" Kratos asked coldly.

"...Oh nothing, I-"

"KAKASHI-SAN! MY ETERNAL RIVAL OF YOUTH!!"

Kakashi swore loudly, Lloyd and Kratos turning to the source of the voice...and Lloyd almost passed out. Kratos' eye

twitched at the appearance of a young man Kakashi's age, with a bowl-cut, huge eyebrows, and a green spandex outfit

from HELL. The last thing Kratos had seen that was so ridiculously...ridiculous, would have been...well, the Wonder Chef was

close, but Gnome took the cake. That damn BOW of his... Of course, Kakashi didn't look too pleased at the newcomer

either...

"Hello Gai..." he sighed.

"GREETINGS, KAKASHI-SAN! I HAVE HEARD YOU HAVE BEEN PUT UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PROVIDING HOSPITATLITY

FOR SOME YOUTHFUL NEWCOMERS!!" he said loudly.

Lloyd was beginning to snicker wildly, doing the best he could not to burst out into laughter. Kratos...well, Kratos was

dotting.

"Yes, Gai..." Kakashi sighed again.

"WHERE ARE OUR YOUTHFUL NEW COMPANIONS!?"

Kakashi emotionlessly pointed at Kratos and Lloyd.

"AH HAH! IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!!"

Kratos dropped Lloyd when the green-menace grabbed one of his hands and shook it violently, the Seraph resisting the

strong urge to drive something sharp and deadly through the Bruce Lee imitation's jugular.

"I-" he started.

"I AM MAITO GAI! THE SEXY GREEN DEVIL OF THE LEAF!"

Lloyd was rolling on the ground in laughter at this point.

"Let go of-"

"WHO MIGHT YOU BE!?"

"Kratos Aurion, now let go-"

"AH! KRATOS AURION! SUCH A-! ...Strange, name...BUT YOUTHFUL!!"

At this point Kratos was cursing Yuan for saving his life.

"Gai..." Kakashi sighed.

"OH! AND WHO IS THE HAPPY LAUGHING CHILD OF YOUTH!?"

"Huh-? Me?" Lloyd stopped laughing.

"YES!" Gai shouted, releasing a now very irritated Seraph. "YOU ARE KRATOS-SAN'S CHILD, ARE YOU NOT!? YOUR NAME!

WHAT IS IT!? LET ME HERE ITS YOUTHFULLNESS!"

Lloyd smirked.

"Oh no..." Kratos sighed.

"Give me your name and I'll give you mine!"

Kratos groaned as Gai laughed.

"SUCH A WITTY PHRASE! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY FOR THIS YOUTHLY YOUNG ONE! I AM MAITO GAI!"

"...Mighty gay...?" Lloyd stared.

The green-spandex warrior's mind snapped. Kratos smirked and Kakashi was doing the best he could not to burst out into

laughter as Lloyd had.

"W-what? NO! Matio Gai! Why do you insult me so!?"

To accent this, Gai started crying as Shoujo style swirly clouds appeared in the background over his head and violin music

began to play.

"...How did he do that...?" Lloyd stared.

"Don't ask," Kakashi sighed.

"Though it matters not! All have a right to love! LOVE IS A YOUTHFUL THING! IS IT NOT, KRATOS-SAN?! DO YOU NOT- AH!!"

Gai had made the mistake of trying to hug- yes, HUG, Kratos the Seraph, leading to the auburn-head having the emotional

nutcase- ninja, pinned down on the ground with his arms about to be yanked out of their sockets by a ticked angel.

"If you ever attempt to do that again, I will flay you alive, remove your muscle and adipose tissue, force it down your gullet,

tear open your stomach, tie your own intestines around your throat and hang you with them. Understood?"

Lloyd and Kakashi's (although you couldn't see his) jaws dropped. Gai began to weep helplessly, the shoujo-ness

reappearing.

"Please forgive me, Kratos-san! I will not do so again! WAAAAHHHH!!"

Kratos growled and then left the weeping warrior on the floor, standing up and looking as if absolutely nothing had just

happened. Kakashi and Lloyd stared.

"...Holy SHIT," they said at the same time.

"Lloyd, words," Kratos snapped again.

"Huh-? Er...yes, sir!" he stammered.

"How on earth did you...?" Kakashi stared.

"Did I do what?" Kratos asked.

"...You actually made Gai shut up..." he repeated, dazed.

"..."

"Huh? Is that hard to do or something?"

Kakashi went into somewhat of a catatonic state at the question.

However, once they had managed to snap the copy-nin from his SOD (state-of-disbelief), they continued on their little tour,

though Kakashi was even more wary of them than he was yesterday. Granted, they didn't seem like bad people- well, Lloyd

didn't at least, but something was so off with them...and he couldn't put his finger on it. He kept showing them the sights

while trying to craftily pry any information out of them...which was harder than he through. Lloyd was the biggest chance, as

he had figured...but Lloyd himself was a mystery. The kid was way too smart for a five-year-old...far too...well, old, for a five-

year-old... Then he said 'two ye'...two years? Only two years? He couldn't have meant that he was only two years older than

him... Or...perhaps he could've. Was the appearance of a child a genjutsu of some kind? No...they saw Hokage-Sama, if they

were using any kind of jutsu in his presence the old man would've called it out and told him...

"Hellloooooo, Kakashi! I asked you a question!!"

Speaking of Lloyd...

"What is it, Lloyd-chan?" he sighed.

"Stop calling me-! Oh hell with it.." he sighed, "Look, about that Naruto kid..."

"Hm?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"...Does he...really not have anybody?"

Kakashi stopped walking and Lloyd did too, the ninja looking down into the child's eyes. Kratos stopped and watched the

scene, curious as well as wary. The copy-nin paused a moment and then sighed...

"The Hokage is kind to him, however...he rarely has time to spend with him, other than that...well, no, Naruto really doesn't

have anybody..."

"...That's...awful..." Lloyd whispered, "...why?"

"..." Kakashi sighed, "look, don't worry about it-"

"What's that gonna help!?" he snapped. "If no one worries about it, nothing changes!"

"...You can't help everyone, kid-" the ninja started.

"I'm not talking about helping everyone! I'm talking about helping him!"

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly, gaze locked on the determined toddler's face.

"...Excuse me?"

"I know I can't help everyone...but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try! Nothing changes if nobody tries! It's...it means

something, even if all you manage to do is help one person... People are more important than how you just throw them

away-!" the boy cried.

"Lloyd," Kratos interrupted, "that's enough, calm down-"

"But I-!"

Kakashi tuned out the rest, his mind still on the boy's words. Something about the way he said that...and what he said,

specifically...reminded him so much of Obito. That fiery idealism, the recklessness, the determination...the slight naivety and

stubbornness... A slow smile crawled into his face. So there were still people like that in the world...heh...he'd almost given

up on that...

"...rry, Kakashi..."

"Hm?" he blinked, shaking off his daze.

"Sorry for yelling at you.." Lloyd muttered bitterly, "it's not your fault..."

"...But think it is, don't you? Because I don't do anything?" he eye-smiled.

"H-huh-?"

"Listen kid...never apologize for something you're not sorry for," he smiled, "you'll have plenty enough things in life you will

be sorry for that for which you can never apologize enough..."

"..." Kratos' face fell.

"...You mean that?" Lloyd asked. "The...don't apologize part?"

"...Yeah,"

"...Okay, then I'm not sorry," he grinned, "but just because I'm not sorry I yelled at you doesn't mean I don't think you're

cool, okay? Because you are."

Kakashi laughed, "All right, kid, sure..."

"Stop calling me kid!!"

"..." Kratos looked to the side, "...Lloyd, it's your friend."

"Huh-? Hey!"

Lloyd grinned, spotting Naruto trying to pass through the street without being noticed. Of course, that didn't help him much

once Lloyd saw him.

"Hey, Naruto!!"

The blond paused and turned to look. Not many people called him by his name, and if they did, it usually meant he was going

to get hit or something. This time, however, something in his gut told him he wasn't in trouble...this time.

"H-hey! It's you!" he stared, recognizing the brunette.

"Hey! Uh...sorry about earlier," Lloyd smiled, "that was- ah, nevermind... look, if you still wanted to hang out or something-"

"You mean like...play? You want to play with me?" Naruto gaped.

Lloyd grimaced a little. 'Play' made it sound really childish...but then, he technically was a child again...he'd have to get used

to it eventually...

"...Sure," he smiled.

The best way to explain Naruto's reaction would be an explosion.

"REALLY!?" he cried.

Lloyd almost fell over, startled by the sudden shout (and it's not like his angel ears helped much either) and the blazing grin

on Naruto's face. Kratos couldn't help but notice the blond and his son had that same idiot-grin...

"...Heh," he smirked, maybe they'd last here after all...

"Geez...there's two of them..." Kakashi blinked.

After Lloyd recovered from Naruto's outburst...

"...Yeah! Really!" he grinned.

Naruto stared at him a minute before his eyes began to water.

"Hey, are you okay-?" Lloyd stammered.

"No one's ever played with me before...!!" the boy sniffled.

"...Well then, I'll be the first," Lloyd grinned, "so um...what do you want to play?"

Naruto stared at Lloyd, the psychologically older boy fidgeting.

"...Um...uh...w-why don't YOU choose...?" the blond stammered.

POOF!

"Tag," Kakashi eye-smiled, poking Naruto on the head.

"AH!!" the boy yelped, hiding behind Lloyd. "Don't hurt me!!"

"Woah-! Calm down! It's a game!" Lloyd stammered.

"...It is...?" the boy stared. "So...who's he...?"

"That's Kakashi, he's kind of...weird, so..."

_I'M weird? _Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Kaka...shi...?" the boy eyed him.

The copy-nin flinched, damn that kid looked just like his father...

"...Well, say hi! He's nice, he won't hurt you..." Lloyd muttered.

"...He won't?"

Lloyd grimaced, angry at the people of this place for having to put a kid like him through all this... Though...was this the kind

of thing Mithos faced...? He sighed, Mithos could've been such a great guy if he just didn't... Well, no point in worrying about

that now...

"Yeah, Naruto, he won't, I promise," he smiled.

Naruto eyed Kakashi warily...

"HI!" he grinned. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!! BELIEVE IT!!"

"...That is an extremely annoying phrase, but...nice to meet you," he smiled softly.

Kratos watched on with a faint smile. Of course, it would be Lloyd that would break the ice for somebody...always was, but

that was what made Lloyd so special. He always managed to focus on the important things...

"Hey, I have a question," Lloyd asked Naruto.

"Huh? What?"

"Why do you have whiskers?"

...Or...not...

**To let you know, yes, I am now reading the manga! Thanks to Manjinken, for telling me a site I could read it... I tried to **

**find one before, but I just got fed up with it...and let me tell you, I was so ticked off to find all the filler crap they're **

**airing right now wasn't even in it! (Fumes)**

**Sarutobi: Temper, young one...**

**Me: Nyeh. Right, anyway, I'm to the point when:**

**(Spoiler)**

**Itachi was doing all that stuff, in an evil organization and having his relative hate him TO PROTECT HIM! It's a Kratos **

**complex!! O.o YAY! Itachi-was-a-gooood-guy! Itachi-was-a-gooood-guy! n.n**

**(End spoiler)**

**Me: I didn't read all of the parts before the valley of the end, but I know the filler part about the rain-nin guy who looks **

**suspiciously like Forcystus with the whole lot about Idate and stuff...that is filler, right? Anyway. If there's anything **

**major before that I should know, please tell me. n.n But no spoilers for the rest of it yet! Please!!O.o Let me read it!!**

**Sarutobi: Very long author's note...**

**Me: Oh put a sock in it...(grumbles) it was a long chapter, right...?**

**Sarutobi: Review, please. n.n **

**Me: I'm telling you, that guy in the Idate-race part was Forcystus' brother...first time I saw him I was like: O.o OMG! **

**FORCY!!**

**Sarutobi:...and...now she's rambling...--'**


	3. Chances

**Chapter three! I'm glad to see everyone liked the part with Gai...ehehehe...**

**Sarutobi:...Are you demented, perchance?**

**Me: Shut up old man, disclaimer, now.**

**Sarutobi: (Sigh) ...Freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**Me: On with the show! n.n**

**Chances**

Lloyd stared open mouthed at his new friend, Kratos and Kakashi eying the blond warily at the inhuman actions. Naruto had

already eaten five whole bowls of ramen, and was approaching his sixth. Kakashi mentally maimed himself for offering to

treat them to the new stall Ichiraku's that had opened up. Great, the little monster could shovel away...and Lloydie-boy

wasn't helping, he had eaten two already... Kratos watched with interest, wondering how it was possible someone could

out eat his son...they'd only been here for eight minutes. Before this he had figured his son had the largest appetite in

existence...apparently he was wrong, now he owed him an apology... The blond boy slurped up the last of his dish and

grinned.

"This ramen stuff is great! It's the best thing I've ever tasted in my whole life!"

_Which is only like, five years..._ Lloyd and Kakashi thought in unison.

"I'm glad you like it!" said the man that ran the place. "What a nice kid!"

"R-really?" Naruto went starry eyed at the compliment.

This man was new too, luckily for the hyperactive blond he hadn't yet heard about why it was the child was shunned and

routinely abused. Lloyd couldn't help but smile at the look of joy on Naruto's face as he dug into his own dish. This stuff was

great! Kinda like that 'soba' stuff they had in Mizuho...good thing Sheena had taught him how to use those chopstick things,

because apparently that's what they used here. After eating (and after Kakashi kissed his hard-earned money goodbye)

they continued to stroll through the village with Kakashi pointing out the areas of interest to Kratos as Lloyd discovered the

boy he had befriended was like an egg. He was shy and placid when you left him alone, but when you break the shell you

got a mess of bright and energetic goo. Well...okay, perhaps that didn't quite fit, but that was the only thing Lloyd could

think of to compare the boy to. The thing was...he would not shut up...

"Thank you so much for letting me come with you and thank you for the ramen Mr. Kakashi and Mr. Kratos thanks for not

being mean to me and letting me hang out with Lloyd and thank you Lloyd for not thinking I'm a freak or-"

"It's okay, Naruto! Really, calm down," Lloyd laughed nervously.

"You guys are so nice to me!" the boy cried, tears welling up in his eyes.

"..." Kratos smiled gently, "you're welcome."

"Hey, it's nothing Naru-chan," Kakashi laughed.

_Except you and Lloydie-boy totally drained my wallet..._

Beep beep.

"Hm?" the ninja checked a watch he had. "Well, Kratos-san, it's about time I took you to your new place...so we should get

the address from the-"

POOF!

Naruto yelped and hid behind Lloyd as a young man with a scar across his nose appeared with something in his hand and a

smile on his face.

"Hm? What are you doing here, Iruka?"

"Hokage-sama asked me to deliver this, I just finished my mission so..." the young man smiled, "well...you know. Here it is."

"Thanks," the copy-nin took the scroll, "so, hard at work for those exams?"

"You bet," he grinned, "I can't wait to become an instructor!"

"..."

"Hm?" Iruka turned to look at the others. "Oh...you must be this Kratos I keep hearing about...is it true you almost ripped

Gai-san's arms out?"

Kakashi snickered and Kratos smirked slightly.

"You could say that..."

"...Wow, you're good," he blinked, "so Kratos-san, I- are those two yours?"

"Hm? No, just the brown-haired one. My son, Lloyd," the Seraph stated, "the blond trying to hide from you would be friend."

Iruka noticed the markings on the boy's face and his eyes widened. That kid was...but he looked so scared...he didn't look

like a monster...

"Hey!" Lloyd grinned. "This is Naruto, have you met him?"

Naruto...that's what his name was...?

"..." the blond whimpered and hid behind Lloyd further.

"Hm...a minute ago, we couldn't get him to shut up..." Kakashi mused.

"...R-right, well, I need to be off, good-bye!" he smiled before poofing away.

Silence.

"I SO gotta learn how to do that!!" Lloyd groaned.

"..." Kratos sighed.

"Well, Iruka brought us your new address," Kakashi said after examining the scroll, "come on, before it gets dark...Naruto,

you should go home too."

"...Do I have to?" the boy asked softly.

"...Well, sorry but you do..."

Naruto's face fell.

"H-hey! Don't worry about it! We'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"We will?" his blue-eyes lit up.

"Sure! I mean...is that okay, Dad?" Lloyd looked at his father.

"..."

"You'll be seeing him in school soon," Kakashi said, "did you know that, Naruto? Lloyd's going to be one of your classmates."

"Really?!" the boy beamed.

"Yeah!" Lloyd grinned. "So I'll see you real soon, okay?"

"...Okay..." he said finally, "but I'd better see you soon! Okay?"

"I promise," he smiled.

"...Okay," Naruto smiled widely, "Bye!"

With that the kid ran off, feeling the happiest he'd felt in his whole short life. Kakashi watched after and briefly wondered

how long it would last... One friend wouldn't stop the rest of the villagers from hating him, one friend wouldn't make a- He

paused. Wait...one friend could...well, it was best to be optimistic...

--

* * *

"This is where we're gonna live?" Lloyd blinked.

"Small, but there are only two of you..." Kakashi looked around, "it should be all right, right? Bathroom, kitchen, living room,

two rooms...small, but-"

"It'll be fine," Kratos stated, examining the empty dwelling, "we don't need much. Though eventually we may care to

purchase a chair or two..."

"Yeah...this place is completely empty," Kakashi laughed, "except for some food and dishes in the kitchen Hokage-sama had

placed here..."

"So...where are we gonna sleep?" Lloyd blinked.

"Hm, good question," the ninja frowned, "well..."

The copy-nin stuck his head in the rooms and then murmured a quick 'ah-hah!'. There was one bed with a mattress in the

larger room...none in the other, though... Oh well, they'd have to just make do for the night.

"There's a bed in there, you two can share for the night, right?"

The Aurions quickly adapted blank looks of shock.

"...What?"

"You mean...sleep in the same bed as him?" Lloyd slowly glanced up at Kratos.

"..."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

"Well...yes, what's wrong with that? You are father and son, it shouldn't be that awkward...I used to sneak in and sleep

with my parents when I was seven...though don't tell anyone that," he chuckled sheepishly, "...it's not like you're too big for

that, Lloyd-chan, you should enjoy being able to cuddle up to your Daddy while you're still small enough to...then again, he

is kinda of scary."

Kratos death-glared Kakashi, who swallowed as Lloyd stared off into space with a traumatized expression. What was with

these people? They were so unorthodox...

"Well...er...right, I'll check in on you tomorrow."

POOF!

"..." both swordsmen slowly looked at each other.

"...You go ahead and take the bed, I'll be fine," Kratos stated.

"Huh? Are you sure you don't want it?"

"Lloyd, you know I don't have to sleep," he pointed out.

"Well...yeah, but...what'll you do all night?"

"...The same thing I always did," he shrugged.

"...What did you always do all night anyway?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

Kratos looked at him and then turned away, unable to take those big brown eyes. He...he would watch him, all night, that's

all he did during those nights on the journey...watch him and wish he could've seen him grow up- The Seraph jolted. Oh

God...that's...that's what...he was going to see that now, wasn't he? Kratos' heart began to beat faster as the realization

finally sunk in. He was going to see Lloyd grow up, he was going to see Lloyd go to school, he was going to...he was going

to be there for him, he was going to actually be...he could actually be a father, a real father! His knees quivered slightly at

the thought...it was...it was like a dream, a really sweet dream...

"...Hey D- K-...Dad, are you okay?"

Kratos nodded slowly.

"I'm...I'm fine, I apologize," he stated.

"...Are you sure? You don't look really good all of a sudden..." the boy frowned in concern, "and I've NEVER seen you look

this bothered..."

"No, I'm fine," Kratos stated, clamping down any emotion from his voice, "...look, just take the bed, all right? Don't worry

about me, I'll be fine."

Lloyd slowly walked into the room with the bed and took his boots off, looking around the empty quarters. It scared him how

big everything was...he remembered being this small, of course, but for everything to suddenly be...and the bed was so

damn high up! How was he going to climb up there?! He briefly considered asking Kratos before shoving the thought from

his mind. No way! He couldn't ask someone for help! He'd just...uh...well, he could try to jump it, but without his

exsphere...but then, he still did have those wings of his...but he didn't need to take out his wings to do this! Geez, that

would be embarrassing! No choice...he'd just have to try and climb up. The 'tot' attempted to hoist himself atop the bed,

straining not to fall...

"Grr...c'mon...almost- HEY!"

He felt two hands grab him under the arms and place him on the covers, the brunette growling death glares at the auburn-

haired Seraph that had just placed him there. Kratos looked at him silently as Lloyd's face blanked. After a minute...

"...Did you...did...that...?"

"..." Kratos tilted his head to the side.

"...Did that...happen...before...?" he frowned, his brow furrowed deeply.

"...Get some rest," Kratos stated turning away.

"W-wait-!" Lloyd stammered.

"What is it?" he glanced at him.

"...Dad...uhm..."

The boy's face flushed bright red, Kratos 'dot'ting again as he watched him. After a minute the boy coughed and then spoke.

"...Could you do that again?"

"...I'm afraid I don't get what you mean."

"...Could you pick me up again?"

"..." Kratos' eyes widened slightly, "...why?"

"...Because...um...I..." his cheeks darkened, "...it...felt familiar..."

"...Well...I..."

Kratos twitched suddenly, sensing a presence... They were being watched, he could tell. Nothing hostile...but he assumed it

was some on the ninja the Hokage had mentioned, of course...they would have people watching them as a precaution. They

were a rather suspicious and shrewd bunch...

"...Get some rest, Lloyd, I'll go to sleep in a little while."

He walked out before Lloyd could say anything.

"...You could at least answer me, Dad..." he muttered, curling into the blankets.

Kratos examined the rest of the apartment, attempting to find a spot where the ninja might be watching without looking like

he was looking for one. Though this was normal enough, right? A father examining a new home while his child slept...

Sleep...damn, if he was being watched he was going to have to fake at sleep... His throat tightened. They had no blankets

or pillows, with the exception of the ones Lloyd was using... Damn it all...that meant he was in fact going to have to...have

to... He twitched. He would have to share the bed with Lloyd, for sake of their cover... They would be suspicious of a father

who wouldn't share with a toddler, most parents would be able and willing to do such a thing... The problem was, Lloyd

wasn't really a toddler... He'd stay awake for a little while, then when Lloyd was asleep he would attempt to fool the spies

that he was sleeping as well...but...he shuddered.

"..."

After a while he slowly wandered into the bedroom, Lloyd snoring loudly as he sprawled on his side of the bed. Kratos failed

to contain a small smile, the corner of his lip tugging upward somewhat. The Seraph nervously checked to see if his child

really was asleep...then took a deep breath, slowly sliding in on the empty side of the bed. All right...it wasn't as hard as he

thought, just fake sleep now... The problem was, he hadn't slept in...well, since Anna died... It was kind of hard to remember

how to get comfortable and drift off anymore... He groaned softly before turning onto his side- and finding himself looking

right into Lloyd's big brown eyes. Tension fell like a rock, both swordsmen's eyes going wide with embarrassment and

shock... Kratos twitched, his mind racing to find a suitable excuse before Lloyd spoke.

"...Dad...what are...?" he whispered his question, staring.

"..." Kratos' cheeks flushed.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...So...uh..." Lloyd blushed, "...you decided you're going to sleep...?"

"...Yes," Kratos turned onto his other side, scooching away from his son somewhat, "...good night."

"...Y-yeah...good night..."

Lloyd turned onto his side, putting his back to his father as he forced himself to close his eyes. It was just so...WEIRD. That

is...he knew they were- you know...father and...son, but still... It didn't make it seem any less weird... Though it would

probably be even more awkward if he was his true age... Yeah, that was true, he was technically a little kid now...so it was

kosher, right...? ...Still weird. Naught but a few hours passed before he woke up again in the middle of the night, turning to

his side again to see the silhouette of his father in the darkness.

"..."

Lloyd just looked at him a minute, noticing a few things... For one, they both slept on their sides...did he...get that from him?

And...he was getting that familiar feeling again...that feeling he had before when Kratos picked him up, the nagging, deja vu-

ish feeling that he had done this before...

KABOOM!

Lloyd yelped, instinctively backing away from the window at the sound of a thunderbolt. Thing was, backing away from the

window caused him to back into his father, startling the Seraph to attention.

"Lloyd-? Lloyd what's wrong-?" he asked,

KABOOM!

Lloyd attempted to scramble back onto his side but accomplished quite the opposite when he got tangled in the sheets, his

thrashing only succeeding in making him hit Kratos somewhat as the mercenary took in the situation.

"I-! I'm fine-! I just-! I was startled-!"

"Lloyd, calm down, you're getting more tangled-"

KABOOM!

Lloyd yelped. Now see...he never liked storms anyway, they freaked him out. That and now...for some reason, everything

was so much louder, everything was so much bigger, and everything just seemed to panic him more, the fact he was half-

awake not helping at all. Everything seemed...scary, now, he didn't know what was wrong with him. Everything seemed

TERRIFYING...he just couldn't calm down-

KABOOM!

The lightning hit just a few feet outside the window.

That did it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

Lloyd clung onto Kratos, whimpering like a baby. Kratos went wide eyed, his heart racing at the sudden development. This

wasn't happening...his breathing grew short and choppy as he realized what had just happened. Lloyd was hugging

him...and he was scared. Before he could fully think about it he found himself holding Lloyd close to him, fondling his hair and

rubbing his back.

"Calm down, Lloyd...it's all right..."

Lloyd was near hyperventilating, clutching onto Kratos tightly.

"It's all right, calm down...you won't get hurt...it's fine..."

The child whimpered as his father held him.

"Hff...hff..." Lloyd panted, calming down somewhat.

He froze, then slowly looked up at Kratos.

"..." he paled.

"..." Kratos flushed.

"...You won't tell anyone, right?" he asked.

"Not if you won't," Kratos stated.

"Then..." his eyelids dropped, then he yawned before cuddling up to his father, "m'kay...so it's okay if I sleep...right...? Just

don't...tell..."

He closed his eyes and his breathing steadied, leaving Kratos amazed at how fast his son could fall asleep... The Seraph

sighed in relief, gently setting his son back on his side of the bed and pulling the covers up to his chin...

"..."

Mentally, he was in tears... He hadn't been this impossibly happy since...since...he couldn't even remember. A smile coerced

itself into his lips as he stroked Lloyd's hair once more and then placed a quick kiss on Lloyd's forehead.

"Sleep well, my son..."

It was a couple days later that Lloyd found himself standing outside the Academy, and although not liking the concept of

school the thought of learning to be a ninja was just too exciting to pass up. He even found out ninjas could use swords,

which brightened him up significantly. Kratos thought it was a rather fortunate fact, if Lloyd could combine his

swordsmanship with the fighting style here, he could be more than formidable in any situation...

"I don't see Naruto anywhere..." Lloyd said.

"We are late, you realize," Kratos stated.

"We are?" he blinked.

Kratos sighed. Yes, they were about an hour late, apparently there had been a 'problem' earlier in the morning Kratos had

left to deal with, thus got home too late to wake Lloyd up on time. When asked about the problem, however, Lloyd barely

got so much as a sentence out of his stoic father. It annoyed him.

"Come, I need to sign you in," Kratos walked off.

Lloyd briefly stopped to stare at his father's outfit. It was just so weird to see Kratos wearing the standard jonin garb. It

always just seemed to him that his father was wearing some unorthodox, important or enigmatic looking outfit, now with

just the regular get-up and the Konoha band around his arm it was just so...bizarre. Lloyd walked after his father carrying

his bag, still unused to his new sandals. It just didn't feel like he was wearing shoes at all...how did people move like that?

At any rate, Kratos led Lloyd in and they found the office.

"Hey! It's you again!" Lloyd exclaimed.

Iruka Umino looked up from the desk.

"Oh, it's you!" he blinked.

"So what...are you a secretary or something?"

"What? Of course not!"

"..." Lloyd blinked.

"...All right, sort of," he sighed, "look, I need to do this for training before they'll let me be an instructor, okay?"

"Oh..."

"Anyway...what did you need, Kratos-san?"

"We're late, so I'd like to sign Lloyd in for his first day," Kratos stated.

"Huh? Oh! Well then," Iruka smiled, "I got his information right here..."

"Cool!" Lloyd grinned. "I can't wait! This is going to be so cool!"

"..." Kratos sighed, not bothering to say something about his son's enthusiasm.

"I'll take you to your class, okay? Say goodbye to your father, he's probably got a mission to go on," Iruka said.

"Oh all right...Bye, Dad!"

Kratos smiled softly down at him before leaving the room.

"Take care," he said.

"All right then," Iruka got up, "come on Lloyd, I'll show you your classroom."

"Lead on!"

Lloyd couldn't help but notice how big the school was...after all, all he had ever known was a one-room schoolhouse, not a

large building like this... Either way, before he knew it Iruka opened a door and stepped through it.

"Pardon the interruption," he said to the teacher, "I have a new student."

"Oh?" the instructor asked. "Must be the one we've been expecting...come in."

Lloyd walked in and looked around at his classmates. Yay, toddlers...he'd just have to deal with it... The instructor nodded.

"All right class, this is our new student," he said, "Lloyd Irving Aurion."

Lloyd grinned and waved at the class, still a little uncomfortable with the alteration to his name. It couldn't be helped,

though, so Irving got pushed down to a middle name...oh well, better than completely emitting it...

"Now everyone make him feel welcome," he said, "okay, Lloyd, go find a seat."

"Yes sir," he nodded.

Lloyd looked around at the seating arrangements... Hm, some girl with a big forehead, some guy wearing glasses, a fat kid,

a sleeping kid, a kid that smelled like dogs, some dark-haired boy with hair that looked like a chicken butt... Hey! Naruto!

Lloyd almost called out to him when he noticed the boy was looking out the window in a funk of some sort, and that no one

was sitting by him...

"I wouldn't go near him," a voice said.

Lloyd turned.

A child shook his head, "he's bad, don't go near him."

"Why?"

"...Um...'cause Momma says he's bad."

Lloyd set the child a nasty glare and then went and sat right next to Naruto. The boy flinched and turned at the sound and

then gasped.

"Lloyd!" he grinned, shouting loudly. "You're here!!"

"You! No yelling in class you thing!!" the teacher roared.

Naruto silenced, blushing.

"...Thing...?" Lloyd repeated.

Naruto returned to his funk.

"...Hey, Naruto-"

"I- I'm fine," Naruto laughed, grinning. "Really!"

Lloyd stared.

"...What?"

He had seen this before...it's like Colette would always do. She'd act happy and goofy when she was sad so people didn't

notice she was hurt... Lloyd stared a minute and then snarled to himself. Damn it! Why were people treating him like that?!

It was so stupid!

"...It's okay, Naruto," he said, "you don't have to act tough."

"...But it makes me feel better..." Naruto muttered.

"..." Lloyd sighed, "...all right then, if it makes you feel better..."

_For now, he can go along with that..._ Lloyd thought, _but once we get a chance to talk boy am I going to get him out of that!!_

Meanwhile, the 'problem' Kratos had earlier was being resolved. Well...sort of. The Seraph was now facing down a woman

by the name of Inuzaka whom was giving both Kratos and his companion a steely eye. His companion being Noishe. The

protozoan had turned up just this morning and Kratos had intervened to make certain none of the other shinobi could kill the

unorthodox looking creature. Kratos attempted to assure them Noishe was perfectly safe, but they still had their canine

expert alerted. So here they were, Noishe whimpering with his tail between his legs as the large wolf beside the Inuzaka

woman growled at him.

"...So...he's a what?" she asked.

"...A canine," Kratos stated.

"Right...and what type of 'canine' is he?" she glared.

Noishe whimpered.

"...He's the last of his kind, if that's what you're wondering."

"I meant what species," she snapped.

"...He's called an arshis," Kratos glared.

"Never heard of it,"

"Not many people have, like I said, he's the last of his kind," he huffed.

"Really..." she locked eyes with Noishe.

The protozoan yelped and attempted to hide behind Kratos.

"...Big chicken, isn't he?"

"...Yes, actually..." Kratos sighed.

"...Well, if you can prove he's tame-"

Noishe growled.

"He doesn't like it when he's referred to as a common animal," Kratos stated, "you see...he's rather intelligent. Very, in fact."

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow. "Okay then... Hey! Rabbit eared mutt! What if I told you that you're a flea-infested whelp

that'd run from his own tail?!"

Noishe growled.

"Well?" she smirked.

Noishe barked, the wolf beside the woman barking up at her.

"...He'd tell me my father was the bitch of the pair?" she asked the wolf.

The wolf nodded and Noishe snapped his jaws in an almost cocky manner.

"...Well, so he is intelligent..." she crossed her arms. "Okay then...what's he good at?"

"Pardon?" Kratos asked.

"If any intelligent non-human life forms live in this village they either have to be confined to a home, or be registered to be

put to use during times of combat," she stated, "so either you tell me what he does or you have to lock him up."

Noishe whined.

"...I doubt he could be of any use in combat, you see, he's a bit of a coward."

Noishe growled.

"...However, he is quite fast."

"Fast? How fast?"

Kratos smirked.

A few minutes later...

"HOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYY SHHIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT!!"

Kratos watched with masked amusement as Noishe tore around the field with the woman on his back, her wolf partner

sitting beside him with equal interest. Once Noishe finally came to a halt the dog-shinobi dismounted, pale and shaking

somewhat. Noishe whined in satisfaction.

"...He's REALLY fast..." she said.

"He can go faster, actually," Kratos shrugged.

"...Well damn! That settles it! We can definitely make good use of him!" she said. "Maybe not for fighting, obviously, but

perhaps for a...delivery dog. Could he be trained to travel to certain locations unattended?"

"Show him a map and he can get just about anywhere and back," he nodded.

"That's great! He'd beat any of our messenger hawks any day!" she grinned. "He could possibly be attacked, but I doubt

there's anything fast enough to catch him."

"It depends on the foe, he can hold himself against humans good enough,"

Noishe snorted indignantly.

"Well then! How about it Noishe?" she grinned, looking him in the eye. "Would you be willing to help the village out a bit?"

Noishe looked at her a minute, then at Kratos, then back before nodding.

"Great!" she said. "Leave registration to me, the Hokage's gonna be siked when he finds out we got something this fast!"

Kratos smirked a bit. There was a very slim chance anything could outrun Noishe, if even keep pace with him. He hadn't met

something that could even keep Noishe in their sights in the past four thousand years if he was really running. After all,

arshis were the speed-demons of Aselia and most likely all existence.

"Good job, Noishe," he said.

Noishe barked.

So it was that when Lloyd walked out of the building along with Naruto he spotted Noishe sitting next to Kratos with a

Konoha band around the protozoan's neck like a collar.

"H-? NOISHE!"

"Wh-?" Naruto asked.

Lloyd grabbed his friend by the hand and ran up to his father and 'dog'.

"Noishe!" he grinned.

Noishe whined and then licked Lloyd's face, tail wagging frantically. Kratos smiled slightly and then noticed Naruto watching

the arshis warily, as if afraid it would attack him... No, did the boy get dogs set on him too? The Seraph groaned, he had

heard about the village's mistreatment of the blond, but honestly...he was just a child. Lloyd grinned and turned to Naruto.

"Come on, Naruto! Say hi to Noishe!"

"N...Noishe...?" he asked warily.

Noishe trotted up to Naruto and sniffed him.

"Uh..." he shuddered.

The 'dog' barked and began licking him too, the young boy laughing.

"H-hey! That tickles! Ahahahaahahh-!!"

"Dad, where'd you find him?" Lloyd asked Kratos.

"That was the reason we were late," Kratos explained, "Noishe is now a registered 'nin-dog' of Konoha."

"There're ninja dogs?!" Lloyd gaped.

"Apparently so."

"Hey-! Don't chew on that-!!"

Noishe was attempting to eat Naruto's school bag.

Kratos sighed, "Noishe, we'll feed you later, leave his stuff alone."

Noishe whined disappointedly.

"Wow...he's so big!" Naruto gaped.

"Yep, you can ride him if you want."

"Really!?" the boy went starry-eyed. "That's awesome! Can I try!? Please?!"

Kratos gently picked the blond up and set him on Noishe.

"Wow! Look! I'm tall!" he laughed. "This is awesome! Be-!"

He fell off.

"..." Kratos sighed.

"..." Lloyd groaned, "Naruto, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" the blond snapped, blushing. "Really!"

_Clumsy child, isn't he...? _Kratos thought.

"Dad! Guess what we did today!"

"...Y-"

"We learned how to hold kunai!" Naruto interrupted.

"Oh come on!" Lloyd scoffed. "I wanted him to guess!"

"Oh, sorry!" Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"...Heh," Kratos smirked.

The group headed for home with Naruto tagging them. Lloyd didn't mind of course, but Noishe was getting a little annoyed

with the blond's continued attempts to jump up and yank on one of his ears.

"..." Kratos stiffened.

"Huh? What is it D-? AH-!!"

Naruto dropped to the floor holding his hands over his head as Kratos swept in front of the boys and snatched several rocks

that had been flying towards them out of thin air. The Seraph shot one of his more lethal glares at the gaggle of villagers

whom had just thrown the stones in the direction of Lloyd and Naruto.

"Uh..."

"Now what..." Kratos hissed, "do you think you were doing?"

"What the hell was-? Naruto-? Hey! Naruto!"

Lloyd knelt by his friend's side, the poor fox-boy was shivering on the ground as tears dripped down his face, continued

mutterings of 'don't hurt me!' were heard under his breath. The red clad boy's eyes went wide with horror, then narrowed

with anger. Those...BASTARDS! How could they reduce Naruto to something like this?! Kratos in the meantime, did not get an

answer from the group.

"W...we.." one stammered.

"..That thing is a monster!" one snapped, pointing at Naruto. "Why are you hanging around with it?!"

"Yeah! You all are suspicious enough as it is!" another snapped. "Outsiders with that freaky mutt AND hanging out

with...that...that THING!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if you were in league with it!"

"..." Kratos' glare intensified.

"You shouldn't be here! None of you should!"

"Yeah! We don't need things like you in here!"

"...You..." Lloyd started.

"Attempt to throw something else and you will be injured," Kratos stated, "you have been warned, now I suggest leaving."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"...Come, we're leaving," Kratos stated, turning from them.

"Dad, Naruto's..."

"..."

"Don'thurtmedon'thurtmedon'thurtme..." the blond mumbled.

Kratos picked the boy up and placed him on Noishe.

"We'll drop him off at his home," he stated.

Lloyd was too busy glaring at the villagers who had taken from calling Naruto and 'it' to laughing about the newcomer that

had no bite to his bark...supposedly. Kratos tapped his shoulder and the boy sighed before reluctantly following.

"Dad, why didn't you teach those bastards a lesson!?"

"That would have solved nothing," Kratos stated.

"But they-!"

"Lloyd, I understand, but what good what that have done? They would've only come to hate us all the more, you know

that," he stated calmly.

"..." Lloyd sighed. "I swear...if they hurt Naruto..."

"H-hey," the blond stammered, "it's okay, really. I was...I was just... I could've taken them myself! Don't worry! One of these

days they'll just have to eat their words when they realize how awesome I really am!"

"...Heh heh," Lloyd grinned. "Da- dang straight!"

"See, because I already decided," Naruto grinned.

"Decided what?" Lloyd asked.

"That one day...I'm going to be Hokage!" he exclaimed, looking up at the mountain. "Then everyone will have to respect

me and treat me nice and stuff!"

"...That won't be easy you know," Kratos said.

"...I know, but..."

"But I'll help you!" Lloyd grinned. "Right, Naruto? One day you're going to be the best ninja the world's ever seen!"

_I won't let them keep doing this to you, I promise, _Lloyd thought.

"Heh heh! Believe it!"

"...You really have got to stop saying that though."

"Oh...all right!" he laughed.

"...Heh," Kratos smirked.

**Okay! One more chapter with them young and then I'm going to the actual start of the series. n.n **

**Sarutobi: Hm...oh ho! Who's THIS beautiful young thing?**

**(Has a picture of Yggdrasill)**

**Me:...Sarutobi...that's a guy.**

**Sarutobi: What? That's ridiculous! That's a beautiful young woman if I ever saw one-!**

**Me: It's a guy.**

**Sarutobi:...UNCLEAN! ANTIDOTE! ANTIDOTE-! KAKASHI! LET ME READ MAKE-OUT PARADISE! I NEED AN ANTIDOTE!**

**(Runs off)**

**Me:...Right...um...review? ...Crazy old coot...**


	4. Suggestions

**Chapter four! n.n I'm glad so many people like this so far!**

**Sarutobi: Freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**Me: Thanks! n.n**

**Sarutobi: You're welcome.**

**Me: On with the story!**

**Suggestions**

Kratos sat on a rock in the middle of a grassy field, sharpening his sword on a stone. It was a bright and sunny day, and

judging to the position of that sun... The Seraph sheathed the sword and then pulled a kunai out of a holster and flicked it a

few in front of him. Hm...judging by the shadow...Lloyd was late. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, did her forget

again? ...Hm...probably not...

"YAH-!"

Kratos turned and caught the fist of a red-clad boy of about seven years in his hand, a smirk playing across his lips. The

boy's eyes widened when his father blurred behind him and rammed his elbow between his shoulder blades. Lloyd yelped

and hit the grass, muttering various profanities under his breath.

"Taijutsu needs work, Lloyd," Kratos tsked.

"Grrr-! I'm better with swords, dammit!" he snapped.

"Then why do you keep attacking with your fists and not the sword?"

Kratos pointed to a small blade tied horizontally behind Lloyd's back.

"Because I'm not good with only fighting with one sword either!"

Kratos sighed, "It's really not that difficult, Lloyd-"

"I don't see why they can't just let me use two!"

"Because if you don't have a free hand you can't use kunai or shuriken," he stated, "they won't let you go through the

academy like that, you realize."

"Oh fuck the academy!"

Kratos glared.

"S-sorry, Dad..."

"Speaking of which, have you been practicing?"

"Uh...yeah..."

"...All right then..."

Kratos took two knives and hurled them at a tree at an angle so the cuts they made formed an 'x'. He turned to Lloyd.

"All right, get a bullseye."

"...Uh..."

"Well?"

Lloyd fidgeted a minute before throwing a kunai...and hitting an entirely different tree. The boy paled and looked at his

father, whom was scowling.

"Practicing?"

"Uh...well...I...oh come on! I'm a swordsman dammit!"

"I am too, Lloyd,"

"W-well...how are you so good at this ninja stuff anyway!?" he pointed.

"I've been alive a long time, Lloyd," Kratos sighed, "swordsmanship isn't the only fighting style I know, just the one I choose

to preform in battle."

"...Wait...so what ELSE can you fight with?"

"I'm accustomed to taijutsu of the Mizuhan style, staffs, spears, axes, boxing, magic, guns, crossbows, scythes, whips,

charkams and daggers," he stated coolly.

Lloyd went bug-eyed.

"..."

"H-how the hell...?"

"I've been around a while, Lloyd," he stated, "I had to do something to stop myself from going insane."

"...You just obliterated my ego, you know that?"

"You learned the word obliterated?"

Lloyd glared.

"The point is, once you master the fighting style here you'll be more able to combine it with your sword techniques,"

"Meaning...I could put them together and get something really cool?"

"Yes."

"All right!" Lloyd sprang up again. "Okay, I'll totally get it this time!"

Kratos smirked.

"By the way...you have a boy named Sasuke in your class, am I correct?"

"Him? Yeah," Lloyd nodded, "Naruto hates his guts."

"Hm..."

Lloyd paused.

"Huh? Why?"

"I recently met his older brother," he stated, "..."

"Itachi, right? What about him?"

"...Nothing, get back to work,"

"Oh fine, jerk..."

As Lloyd attempted to correctly throw the kunai, Kratos became lost in his thoughts. He had become aquianted with Itachi

Uchiha not long ago, but something about the boy's attitude was nagging at him. So much so that he had actually taken to

watching the pony-tailed Uchiha...not that that lasted long.

"_I'd ask you to stop following me,"_

"_...Hmph," Kratos appeared behind Itachi._

"_...Kratos-san," the teen turned to look at him, "is there something you want from me?"_

"_...You're about to do something to hurt him, aren't you?"_

"_...What are you talking about? Hurt who?" Itachi's eyes narrowed._

"_Your brother," _

_Itachi flinched a bit._

"_You're going to do something that'll make him hate you, am I correct?"_

_"...What makes you think that?"_

"..."

How did he know that? Well...he knew what it was like, first off. Something about Itachi's behavior reminded him much of

when he himself was about to betray Lloyd at the Tower. Kratos had been around the block a few times, and he was

especially familiar with the scenario of purposely causing a loved one to hate you. Once he spoke to the Uchiha boy he was

certain, it was hard to keep things like that from Kratos, after all...he had an innate sense for this sort of thing.

"_...Do what you must," Kratos stated, "...however, I have a word of advice."_

"_...And what's that?"_

_"...Eventually the truth will come out," he said, "so don't put so much effort in trying to hide it."_

"_..." Itachi jolted a bit, "and what would you know about it?"_

"_...Experience, let's say..."_

"..." Kratos frowned.

"Dad? Hello? Daaaaaaad!"

"Hm? I'm sorry, what is it, Lloyd?" he asked.

"I got it close!"

Kratos looked at the tree trunk at smirked, Lloyd had actually gotten it on the line. Not perfect, but Lloyd wasn't used to that

type of thing.

"Very good, I suppose we can practice some swordsmanship now."

"Yes!" Lloyd cheered, drawing his sword.

"...You're wide open," Kratos stated dully.

"...Crap, not again!"

Kratos sighed and drew his own blade.

"I know you're not used to one sword, but it's not that different from two."

"Man, why can't I use two...?" he groaned again.

"All right, just try what we've been working on."

"Okay...TEMPEST-!"

"HI GUYS!"

"ACK-!" Lloyd staggered in mid-jump.

"...Hello, Naruto," Kratos sighed.

"Naruto! Geez! You messed me up!" Lloyd scoffed.

"Oh, sorry!" he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just wanted to know if maybe you'd practice with me!"

"Uh...well, Dad and I were-"

"Oh," Naruto blinked, "right, okay then...what about tomorrow? Huh?"

"Sure," Lloyd smiled.

"Okay, I'll just...um...go home now,"

With that the blond dejectedly walked off, head hung low.

"..." Kratos trailed.

"...I wonder what's eating him lately?" Lloyd frowned.

"Hm?" Kratos looked at him.

"Well, usually he's happy enough playing pranks and-"

Kratos glared.

"I didn't do anything! I swear!"

"..."

"R-right, anyway...well, he's just been a bit moody..."

"...I see," Kratos looked after Naruto, "..."

"I'll ask him what's on his mind tomorrow," Lloyd said, biting his lip before grinning, "so anyway...DEMON FANG!!"

As Naruto trudged home with his hands in his pockets, he kicked a rock here and there. Lloyd was ALWAYS training with

Kratos... He was happy that Lloyd would even hang out with him, but he never wanted to play imagination games or

anything. Like when that one time he wanted to play Hokage and Ronin, Lloyd played for a little bit and then asked if they

could do something else. Lloyd was no fun sometimes, he'd play tag and goof off and stuff, but some stuff he said was too

'kiddie'... Then after that Lloyd flinched and changed the subject. The blond sighed, his friend was so weird...but he still

wanted to be around him. At least Lloyd was nice to him, and his Dad was too a little bit. Other people were just...why did

they hate him so much? Even Lloyd didn't seem to take him seriously... Darn it! Why did Lloyd act like he was so... Like

Sasuke and his brother, Itachi was always acting like Sasuke was bothering him... Naruto was smart enough to know

sometimes Lloyd wasn't interested in what he said and just wanted to do something else, Lloyd would always try to act like

he was interested, but Naruto wasn't THAT dumb! Lloyd acted like Itachi sometimes... But didn't only OLDER brothers act like

that? Why did Lloyd treat him like he was a baby?

"Hmph," he kicked another rock.

He kept his eyes on the ground, if he looked up he'd see everyone glaring at him...

"TAKE THIS YOU MONSTER!"

Naruto instinctively went to duck as a rock went flying by where his head had just been. The boy scrambled to his feet and

made a mad dash to his home, his heart pounding in his chest. Whenever one threw a rock at him, everyone else usually

joined in... He hated going anywhere without Lloyd, they didn't throw things when Lloyd was with him, they just called him

stuff... They didn't do ANYTHING when Kratos was around...except glare. They always glared. After a mad dash he slammed

the door behind him in his apartment, gaping for breath. He took a look around his little dwelling...empty, silent... Naruto

looked at it a moment before sobbing softly, tears streaming from his eyes. He was always treated so bad out there...but in

here...it was almost worse. It just reminded him that he didn't have a family... Well, he...he had Lloyd- ...but Lloyd couldn't

really like him, could he? If everyone else hated him so much and Lloyd always wanted to train with his Dad...then Lloyd

couldn't really like him, right? No one could possibly... Lloyd was just nice, but that didn't mean he liked him... Naruto slid

along the door into a sitting position, sobbing. No one liked him...huh?

"What's...?"

Looking down beside him he noticed a letter that had probably been slipped under the door... The blond picked it up and

read it:

_Hey!_

_I've got something really cool to show you, but it's gotta be a secret, okay? Meet me at the place I marked on the map tonight at _

_nine, okay? I know this seems weird, but there's something I've got to show you! See you there!_

_Lloyd_

Naruto gaped and then broke out into a wild grin.

"ALL RIGHT!"

Maybe Lloyd did care about him! Stuffing the map in his pocket he went to set his clock, oblivious to the fact of the red eyes

watching him from afar...

* * *

"Dad, where are you going?"

Kratos sighed as his son glared up at him.

"Why does it concern you?"

"It's dark out already!" Lloyd snapped. "Why are you going out after dark?!"

"What's so suspicious about that?"

Lloyd's glare intensified.

"Gee, I dunno, every time you go out after dark it either ends up with you holding a sword at my neck, getting attacked by

former best friends, you leaving me some creepy message..."

Kratos sighed.

"There's just something I want to check up on,"

"Then I'm coming with you,"

"Lloyd-"

"I'm not a child!" Lloyd snarled. "...Okay, well technically I am, but I'm nineteen!"

"...Can I ask you to please leave this to me, then?" Kratos asked.

There was a silence.

"...Oh fine, but I'm coming after you if it gets late," he stated.

"Fair enough," Kratos turned, "try to get some sleep, though."

"Oh fine..."

Kratos sent his son a small smile before walking out and closing the door, leaving the ticked off young Aurion alone with the

sleeping protozoan in the corner. ...It was...still so weird to be living with his biological father...especially now seeing as

Kratos would actually SMILE every once and a while... Why did he do that? Ever since they came here the Seraph just

seemed so much happier...

_Beep beep._

Lloyd looked at the digital clock, one of the many things in this world he found extremely cool for about a day... Though that

'microwave' thing was still amazing, he just couldn't deny that. Anyway, it was nine o'clock-

"What the-!?"

The half-angel took a defensive stance as his surroundings abruptly changed from his little home to that of a bizarre

landscape that looked as if it was made of red clouds. He drew his sword, wishing he had two, but took the stance Kratos

had taught him. This was...a...genjutsu! Yeah! That was the one with the mind-tricks, right? ...Or was that ninjutsu? Either

way, it wasn't good.

_**You should check on your friend.**_

Lloyd jolted suddenly.

"Wha-?"

_**Just a suggestion.**_

Suddenly the illusion faded away... Friend...what-? ...Oh shit! Naruto!

"I'll be back, Noishe!"

Before the 'dog' could whine the boy was off like a shot after the blond. After moving as fast as half-angelically and ninjaly

possibe, the brunette pounded on the door to his friend's apartment.

"Naruto!" he cried. "Naruto!"

There was no answer.

"Oh hell with this..."

Lloyd backed up and rammed the door with all the angelic strength he could muster, knocking it clean of it's hinges. Empty.

"Oh damn oh damn..." Lloyd muttered, looking around.

_**Check the table.**_

Lloyd jolted and looked toward the table to find a note...

"What the...?!" he gasped.

It was his writing, it had his signature...but...he never wrote anything like this! What was going on here...? Oh shit. Naruto

had gone... He didn't know why they were impersonating him, but no matter the reason he knew they had lied to Naruto

and lured him off somewhere...a trap.

"DAMMIT!" Lloyd shouted. "Oh shit, where'd he-?!"

"Lloyd?"

"Huh-? Kakashi!"

The copy nin had appeared in the room with him.

"Now what are you doing in here?" he asked.

"What are YOU doing in here?" Lloyd snapped.

"...Naruto's not here..." Kakashi muttered. "...Fuck."

"Why-?"

"Quick, Lloyd, did you hear a voice telling you to come here?"

Lloyd gaped.

"Y-yeah...how the hell did you know-?"

Kakashi swiped the note from Lloyd's hands.

"Hey-!!"

"...Did you write this?"

"What? No!" Lloyd said. "I...I have no idea how they copied my writing but-"

"Sharingan..." Kakashi muttered.

"Huh?" Lloyd stared.

"...Someone's after Naruto, an Uchiha," Kakashi stated.

"A-? Wait! Why would-!? We've gotta do something-!!"

"I could track him, but-"

"But WHAT?!" Lloyd snarled. "Naruto's in trouble! We've got to-"

"If someone bothered to lure Naruto out, why would they lead us to him?"

"Who CARES?! Either way Naruto's in danger!"

Kakashi frowned, "...This is a trap, you do realize that."

"So what, just leave him out there?!" Lloyd glared. "I'm going after him no matter what, so either help me or-!"

"Hold your horses, Lloyd-chan-"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

Kakashi sighed, "Look, we can't just rush in brashly."

"Then what do you suggest we do?!"

Kakashi closed his eyes and thought a moment.

"...All right, I'll head after him and you go get help-"

"Like hell I will! I'm going after him."

"You'll only get in the way, Lloyd-chan-"

Lloyd flipped him off.

"Wh-? You-!"

"I'm going whether you like it or not," Lloyd huffed, "deal with it."

"..." Kakashi's eyes narrowed before he nodded, "fine."

Making a few quick hand signs Kakashi put his hand to the floor-

POOF!

"What the-?" Lloyd stared.

"Summonings," he said simply.

Two dogs sat on the floor, a pug and a greyhound.

"You," Kakashi pointed to the greyhound, "request help, Naruto's in danger."

The dog run off through the open doorway.

"Pakkun, can you sniff him out?"

The pug walked over and sniffed a shirt laying on the floor.

"Yep," he said.

Lloyd almost fell over.

"It can talk!?"

"Nice to meet you too," the dog said, "this the Lloydie-boy I heard about?"

Lloyd's eye twitched.

"Yes, now please help us track down Naruto,"

"Okay then..." Pakkun sniffed around a bit, "...follow me!"

The pug ran off, Lloyd hesitating a minute before following with Kakashi beside him. Kakashi side-glanced at Lloyd through

suspicious eyes, though decided due to circumstances he could worry about it later.

"..."

The Uchiha compound was silent, eerily so in fact that Kratos' angelic ears couldn't pick up much. That was unheard of, it was

as if this entire area had just been drained of any signs of life. This only proved his assumptions, something was going to

happen...he sat from a building side in the shadows, attempting to give no sign he was even existing in the area... Suddenly

there was a brief movement.

"..."

Itachi.

Kratos' eyes narrowed just a moment before something strange happened.

_**Check on your son.**_

"..." he flinched.

_**Just a suggestion.**_

"..."

Kratos left the compound.

* * *

"Woah..."

Pakkun stopped on a tree branch, Kakashi and Lloyd landing on one behind him. Lloyd was panting, winded from the

vigorous traveling as Kakashi's suspicions grew. He wasn't complaining...he was a young boy, exhausted and scared and he

wasn't complaining...

"W-woah? Woah what?" he wheezed.

Pakkun sniffed a bit, "...well, I found Naruto."

"You did-!?"

"But someone's with him...someone I'm not going to stick around to see."

With that Pakkun disappeared.

"W-what?! COME BACK HERE YOU MANGY MUTT-!!"

Kakashi covered his mouth.

"Fool, you want to give away our location?"

Lloyd glared up at him.

"...Now I want you to go back, understand?"

Lloyd shouted muffled protests.

"Look, either go back or I'll knock you out right here, understand?"

The boy stopped struggling, though he did not stop glaring up at him.

"Oh no, I can't have that."

"Wh-? UGH-!!"

As if from nowhere, Kakashi was dealt an uppercut that sent him flying a good few feet before he managed to reclaim his

footing. Before Lloyd even had time to yelp someone us had him in their hold with a hand over his mouth. The attacker was

off like a shot and Kakashi dashed after him.

_Oh fuck, Kratos-san's gonna kill me..._

The kidnapper stopped when they reached a clearing in the woods, standing before Kakashi with the struggling Lloyd.

"So you're Kakashi of the sharingan eye, huh?"

Kakashi went bug-eyed.

"Mmff-! PUT ME DOWN!" Lloyd shouted, finally breaking free.

Surprisingly, the man complied and dropped the boy who scrambled over to Kakashi's side.

"Who the hell do you think you-!?..."

The man had long black hair and blood-red eyes, a smirk on his pale face. Lloyd noted he looked a bit like Sasuke while

Kakashi could only gape at the stranger.

"You're..." Kakashi pointed.

"Madara Uchiha," the man gave a mock bow.

"Who?" Lloyd blinked.

"That's impossible...you're supposed to be dead," Kakashi gaped.

"Nothing is impossible," he smirked.

"...Hey! Where's Naruto!?" Lloyd snapped, drawing the sword.

"The boy? He's right there," Madara gestured to the side.

An unconscious blond laid off to the side, a trickle of blood running down his face. Lloyd made a move for him but was pulled

back by Kakashi.

"You-! What did you do to him-!?"

"Him? Nothing much, he was just bait," Madara shrugged, "bait for bait, really, because that's all you two are...or should I

say you are, Lloyd."

Kakashi moved forward.

"And what do you need Lloyd for?"

Madara smirked and moved forward a bit, the moonlight adding a malicious glint into his bloody eyes.

"His father's getting in my way," he said, "sticking his nose in things it doesn't belong in... Thank you for leading him here,

Kakashi. This should draw him away."

"Away from what?" Kakashi asked, revealing his own Sharingan.

"You'll find out," he smirked, "in the meantime..."

"Gah-!"

Kakashi hit the floor.

"I'll have a little fun with you,"

"Ka-! You bastard-!" Lloyd started forward...

Then hit the ground a second later.

"Oh, that's the best you can do?" he tsked. "I'm disappointed, Kakashi. I figured you at least would be more of a challenge

than the brat here."

The copy-nin was struggling to his feet as Madara simpy walked past Lloyd and slammed Kakashi into the ground again, this

time leaving an imprint. A smirk went over his face as he shook his head.

"Pathetic," he stated. "I-"

"DEMON FANG!"

Madara sidestepped as the attack came for him.

"Huh, the little one still wants to fight?" he looked to Lloyd.

"Don't call me that!" Lloyd snarled, holding his sword ready.

"Make me," Madara smirked.

"...Fine then," Lloyd glared, "RISING FALCON!"

Madara snorted and caught the blade between his fingers.

"The hell-?! AGH!"

The brunette returned to the grass.

"That's it?" he yawned.

"Well then...you know, now that you're here I really don't need the other one..." Madara looked at Naruto, "...and I haven't

killed someone so young in years."

The color left Lloyd's face.

"Don't you-!" Kakashi, whom had gotten up by some miracle, started.

This time Kakashi did not get up again.

"On second thought, you're no longer useful," Madara mused, "perhaps I should just finish you off first."

"No-!" Lloyd started.

Madara locked eyes with him.

"...Lloyd-! Don't look-!" Kakashi started.

The Uchiha smirked.

Lloyd choked.

"Mangekyo."

The next thing Lloyd knew he was in the weird red world again, chained to a wall sticking out of the ground. He gasped and

attempted to wrench free, but even with his angelic strength he couldn't budge.

"What the hell is this...?" he gaped in horror.

Madara appeared.

"For the next three days? It's your hell," he smirked.

STAB!

"GAH-!"

Lloyd let out a scream of pain, a sword sticking through his gut.

"I'll keep doing this for three days,"

STAB!

"Ah-!"

"Fun, isn't it?"

More stabs, hundreds of them at once again and again... He'd never felt this much pain at all, not even during the

Regeneration Journey.

STAB!

Lloyd's screaming tapered to an end, leaving him panting.

"...Time left...two days, twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes, fifty-nine seconds," Madara smirked, "by the way, since you're

not that smart...it's only been a second."

The boy choked.

"Ready for the next second?" Madara smirked.

That was it.

"GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!"

There was a burst of light and Madara gasped, seeing the appendages on the boy's back. Bright green, majestic wings that

had sprouted from Lloyd's back and somehow had caused the chains holding him to snap.

"What in the world-?!"

Lloyd looked up at him, glaring death as he pulled some of the remaining blades from his body. The last two he took out and

then held one in each hand.

"You're gonna get it now you bastard..." he hissed.

Madara gasped.

"What...are you...?"

"YOU'RE NOT GONNA LIVE TO KNOW!!"

Lloyd charged for Madara and suddenly they were back in the real world...and Lloyd was furiously attacking Madara with two

swords, bright wings flaring out behind him. The swordsman drew back a minute to kneel by Kakashi's side to check on his

companion.

"You okay?" he asked.

Kakashi looked up, his eyes wide as saucers.

"...The wings? Yeah, long story-"

"That explains why you didn't like being called 'chan'..." Kakashi mumbled.

"...Huh?"

That's when Kratos arrived on the scene to find an unconscious Naruto, a somewhat unnerved Uchiha, an injured Kakashi

and bright wings flaring out of the back of a red-clad swordsman of about nineteen years...

**Me: Oh I am bbaaaaaaaaaddddd...**

**Sarutobi: I'm confused...Lloyd's...?**

**Me: Physically nineteen, his secret about his age and angelic heritage revealed to Kakashi because of Madara Uchiha? **

**Sarutobi: ...**

**Me: Oh I am so happy. n.n Yay cliffies!**

**Sarutobi: ...You do realize your readers are going to kill you?**

**Me: Probably! n.n**

**Sarutobi:...Review if you would.**

**Me: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHH! CLIFFIES!!**

**Sarutobi:...Someone get me some sake...**_  
_


	5. Revelations

**n.n' Apparently, that plot development went over well...**

**Sarutobi: Hm...**

**Me: Could you say the disclaimer, please?**

**Sarutobi: Very well, Freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**Me: Thankys. n.n**

**Revelations**

"Lloyd!" Kratos cried.

The twin swordsman looked up at his father.

"Dad-? What are you doing here?" Lloyd stared.

"I came after you, obviously," Kratos stated, "..."

"Uh? Why are you looking at me like-?..."

It was then that Lloyd noticed.

"...HOLY SHIT!" he gasped, realizing what had happened.

Kratos jumped down next to him, pulling out his sword and facing Madara.

"Lloyd, we can deal with it later, focus," he stated, going into an offensive stance.

"R-right-!" Lloyd dissolved his wings, doing the same.

"Kakashi-san, please hang on for a minute or two," Kratos said.

Kakashi nodded dumbly, still staring at 'Lloyd-chan' as the pair assaulted Madara. How could that boy-? ...Then, it would

make sense, the child wasn't really a child, but how would he be looking like one for so long, then? That wasn't even

considering the wings that had sprouted.

"BEAST!"

Lloyd attempted to knock back Madara, whom dodged with startling speed. Kratos then attacked from behind only to be

blocked by the dark-haired ninja again. It was a wild game of cat and mouse, somehow they just couldn't seem to land a hit

on him. Kratos growled, this was going to be annoying...no more holding back.

"Lloyd! Keep him busy a moment!"

"Right!"

Kratos backed up a bit and then with a flash revealed his sapphire wings, gaining another gasp from Kakashi.

"Sacred powers, cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls..."

Madara sensed the oncoming danger, as well as the substantial amount of chakra, and attempted to get out of the

threatening encantation's range...

"Rest in peace, sinners! JUDGMENT!"

Lloyd backed up and Madara found himself dodging rapidly. Deciding it would be best to end this he popped up behind-

"GAH-!!"

And in less than a millionth of a second, the Seraph Madara had attempted to get from the back had reacted and pummeled

the Uchiha in the gut so hard he coughed up blood.

"H-how the-?"

Lloyd had both swords at the Uchiha's neck from behind, Kratos placing the tip of his own blade directly at Madara's jugular.

There was a moment of tense silence before Madara smirked and locked eyes with Kratos.

"Mang-"

Kratos impaled him through the throat. Lloyd drew back, breathing heavily from the ordeal and the metal sticking out of-

...A...corpse...? The body seemed to dissolve into dozens of large crows, which flew off in different directions. The twin

swordsman gaped and Kratos glared up at the sky, dissolving his wings.

_**Very nice, I think I'll play with you two again sometime, but for now I really should be going...farewell.**_

"What the-?! COWARD!" Lloyd roared.

"Tch," Kratos stated, sheathing his sword. "Let it go, Lloyd, he'll show up again eventually."

"But-!"

"Now..." Kratos locked eyes with his son.

"..." Lloyd paled, then blushed a minute as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I uh...don't know how it happened, I just took

out my wings and..."

"You've taken your wings out before now, but you never changed, why now?"

"Come on Dad, you really expect ME to know?" Lloyd groaned.

The Seraph was silent a moment and observed Lloyd closely, the brunette fidgeting somewhat under the ancient gaze.

"...You look older than I remember,"

"I do? I really don't have a mirror or anything, so..."

"...Ahem..."

The pair turned to look at Kakashi, whom had managed to sit upright.

"Yeah, I realize you two want to chat...but I really think I should get to a hospital..." he coughed.

"...Healing stream." Kratos cast.

Kakashi went wide eyed as his pain simply...left. The ninja blinked a moment before standing upright, finding that he had no

difficulty in doing so. How...? Was that a jutsu of some kind? What was going on?

"Are you all right, Kakashi?" Lloyd asked.

"Y-yeah..." Kakashi trailed, unnerved at seeing 'Lloydie-boy' the same height as he was, "...but shouldn't you be asking-?"

"OH CRAP! NARUTO!"

The swordsman dashed after to the young blond.

"..." Kratos trailed.

"...So...are you going to explain this to me, or are you just going to wait until my head explodes from the strangeness of all

this?" Kakashi asked.

"..."

"...Fine then, can you at least tell me if Lloyd's really a kid or an adult?"

"...Mentally he is the age he currently looks," Kratos admitted, "though for the past couple years he has been in the body of

a child as you have previously seen him."

"Right, then...are you really his father?"

"Yes."

"Then how old are you, really?"

"Old," he stated simply.

"I see...and why exactly do you two not look your age and have wings?"

"...Kekkei genkai," Kratos lied.

"Pardon?" Kakashi asked. "A bloodline limit?"

A genetically inheritable, unique trait? Like the sharingan? He'd never heard of anything dealing with chakra wings before,

that is, none that didn't cause the user to die after bringing them forth.

"Our bodies halt aging at a certain point, Lloyd was involved in an accident of sorts several years ago which caused the

gene to mutate a bit and reverted him to the form of a child, I'm not sure how he's retained his older form," Kratos said

smoothly, well fabricating his lie, "the wings are a result of the kekkei genkai as well as the rather...acute, senses we have."

"...And you didn't tell anyone this because?"

"Because there was no reason to," Kratos stated coolly, "...you can understand why we would keep such a thing a secret."

"...Yes," Kakashi sighed, "I can understand that... I won't tell anyone unless it's necessary. Could I bother to ask for the

name of this kekkei genkai, however? It's not one I've heard of."

"...You could say it's...angelic," Kratos stated.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Dad!" Lloyd shouted. "Can you heal him?!"

Kratos turned, "...I'm coming."

The angel headed for his son and the blond, Kakashi hesitating a moment before following the even more complicated man

than he originally had thought...and he had thought the Aurions complicated from the start. Lloyd had picked Naruto up,

holding the boy out for his father to inspect.

"...First aid!"

A warm green glow surrounded him before it faded away.

"He only looks unconscious," Kakashi stated, "he should be fine, but we'll take him to a doctor back in the village."

Lloyd sighed in relief, "Oh good..."

"...So..."

Lloyd looked at Kakashi.

"..."

"...That's why you didn't want me calling you 'Lloyd-chan',"

Lloyd grinned, "Yeah."

"...So...you're...?"

"Nineteen now, I think?" Lloyd blinked.

"...You mean you're only two years younger than me,"

"Yep."

"...Wow...this is...awkward..." Kakashi sighed.

"Just don't call me 'chan' anymore and we're good."

"...I'm still calling you Lloydie-boy."

Lloyd twitched.

"Wha-!?"

"It's fun to see your reaction," the nin smiled.

"Why you-"

"Kratos-san...?"

All those present flinched and looked at the blond Lloyd was holding, Naruto had just opened his eyes and was looking up at

Lloyd. However, not use to the face of an adult version of his friend, he made the mistake of assuming him to be his father.

Lloyd fidgeted somewhat, unsure of what to say.

"Uh..." Lloyd swallowed.

"...Lloyd...?" the blond's eyes widened.

"..."

"W-what-!?" Naruto yelped, attempting to scramble out of Lloyd's grip.

"H-hey! Calm down-!" Lloyd started.

Somehow the blond slipped from his friend's arms and landed on the ground, only succeeding in hurting his leg on the

forest floor he had jumped down to.

"Naruto-!"

"Get away!" Naruto shouted. "I-! OW!"

"Hey! Don't move! You're hurt-!"

"But-!!"

Lloyd knelt down and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder to stabilize him, using the other hand to examine the young blond's

injured leg. It was...broken? What? How did he get that just from falling? Did that Uchiha bastard break it? Lloyd looked at it

a minute with a frown on his face.

"D-"

"Who are you!?"

"..."

Lloyd looked up and locked eyes with the frightened Naruto, the swordsman suddenly at a complete and utter loss. How

was he supposed to explain this? Ugh...why couldn't Naruto have just stayed out cold? Then at least he would've gotten a

little time to figure out how to say this...

"...I'm Lloyd," he said.

"...W-what? You can't be...!" Naruto gaped. "You're...old!"

"...I..."

"You can't-! AGH-!"

"Stop moving! You're hurting yourself!" Lloyd said. "Dad!"

"His leg is broken..." Kratos frowned, "...that's unusual, there should be some more obvious physical signs..."

"Here," Kakashi handed Lloyd a roll of bandages, "I'll get some sticks to make a splint until we get him to the hospital."

Kakashi attempted to walk into the woods when Kratos stopped him.

"You're still injured yourself even if the technique I used has eased the pain, I'll take care of the splint," he stated.

The Seraph then left them in the clearing.

"...Fine," Kakashi sighed.

"Naruto, why'd you come out into the middle of nowhere so late?" Lloyd asked. "You know that's not safe..."

"...You're...are you...really?" Naruto stared at him dumbly.

"...Yeah," Lloyd admitted, glancing aside, "yeah, I'm Lloyd."

"...Why are-?"

Naruto flinched.

"You were old the whole time! Weren't you!?"

"Uh..." Lloyd stammered.

"That explains everything!" Naruto exclaimed. "That's why you were treating me like a little br-!"

The boy quickly bit his teeth together.

"Little...br...?" Lloyd repeated, dazed. "...Brother?"

"...I...just..." Naruto trailed, "you kinda acted like an older brother, is what I meant...yeah! That! Because you know,

you...you were nice to me even though you think I'm annoying..."

"I don't think you're annoying," Lloyd smiled.

"Liar," Naruto glared.

"...Okay, every now and then," he admitted, "but that doesn't mean I don't like you."

Naruto stared.

"...Now hold still, I want to make sure I line it up right for the splint..."

Kakashi watched in interested, somehow intrigued by the situation taking place. Brother? Naruto saw Lloyd as a brother?

Then...knowing Lloyd's true age would now make that thought more evident. The copy-nin sighed and leaned against a tree.

Lloyd was NINETEEN...he'd been treating someone his age like a child... He was just lucky Lloyd wasn't angry, after all, after

what had just happened with Madara he was dead sure getting on the Aurions bad side was not something he ever wanted

to attempt to do... Then another thought. Lloyd had been stuck as a kid for...how many years? Geez, that had to suck,

having to tag along with midgets all the time...

"...So...how old are you?" Naruto asked.

"Nineteen,"

"...So I'm just an annoying kid, aren't I?" Naruto's face fell.

"Hey!" Lloyd snapped, glaring. "I don't want to hear you insulting yourself again, got it?"

"...Uh-"

"Got it?" he asked again.

"Yeah..." Naruto blinked a minute and then grinned.

"Uh...What're you-?" he started.

"You really do care!" Naruto exclaimed.

"...Well of course, dork," Lloyd smiled, "now really, stop moving around so much- hey, are you okay-?!"

The young ninja was in tears.

"I-I'm fine..." he grinned, wiping away the drops.

"Then why are you-?"

"You still like me...even though you're old,"

"I'm not THAT old, but why would I stop liking you?" Lloyd asked. "I'm still me, I haven't changed."

"R-right," Naruto sobbed, wiping his eyes.

"..."

Lloyd hesitated a minute before placing his hand on top of Naruto's head.

"H-huh-?" the blond stammered.

"Besides...I wouldn't be a very good brother-figure if I did, huh?"

The boy began to cry with joy.

"H-hey, I didn't want to make you cry again-"

"Moron!" Naruto snapped. "I'm happy!"

"Hey! Don't call me a moron, dork!"

"Then don't call me a dork, moron!"

"..." Kakashi sighed, "well...their maturity levels are the same..."

"Do you want me to hurt you?" Lloyd glared.

"Shutting up," Kakashi said simply.

It was a minute later when Kratos returned and they set Naruto's splint.

After doing so they headed back toward the village with Lloyd carrying Naruto piggy back style. They would've offered to

help Kakashi along, but he had stubbornly refused any aid repeating he was fine. However, something was still nagging at

the copy-nin... Madara had been a distraction? For what? And Naruto's leg...he could've sworn that... Was it a possibility

Madara had broken it with chakra? That was possible, after all, the Hyuuga had a technique much like it when they shot

chakra through an opponent. Theoretically it could be used in a like fashion through a bone...but to be that precise to saw a

bone without any damage to the outside flesh or muscle... This Madara person, whether or not he was THE Madara Uchiha,

was still something to be reckoned with. The Hokage would have to hear about it, as well as...the 'other' stuff. He had

promised he wouldn't tell unless necessary, but it was necessary to inform the village leader about the two 'angels'.

"You know...I wonder why he wanted us out here," Lloyd said.

Kratos and Kakashi looked at him.

"...What?"

"...You're only JUST asking that?" Kakashi asked.

Kratos sighed.

"What? What?" he asked. "I-!"

FLASH!

"HOLY SH-!"

"AH-!"

The next second Kratos had snatched two young boys out of the air, an unnerved Naruto and a shocked, once again seven

year old, Lloyd.

"...Okay, that was weird," Lloyd said simply.

"Hey! You're my age again!" Naruto gasped.

"Thank you captain obvious," Kakashi stated blandly.

"Hey!" Lloyd glared. "Leave him alone!"

"Right, right..." Kakashi shrugged.

"It seems it was only temporary..." Kratos stated, "...we'll figure it out Lloyd, I'm sure."

"Oh fu-" he looked at Naruto, "fuuu-dge monkeys."

"Fudge monkeys?" Naruto stared.

"...We should hurry back to the village," Kakashi said.

* * *

It was few days later when Lloyd was searching the village, growing more irritated by the minute.

"NARUTO!" he shouted.

Dammit! Where had that kid gone?! This was not a time to be wandering around! After what had just happened the other

day... The entire Uchiha clan, killed. He couldn't believe it...if this was a village full of ninja, how the hell did no one notice a

massacre going on!? Well, at least he knew what Madara was after... Kratos had noticed something was going on, so that's

probably where his angelic father had gone to that night... Dammit! How many times was he going to be used as bait to

draw out his father!? Whatever, right now it didn't matter. Naruto was supposed to be in the hospital, dammit! Broken legs

did NOT heal that fast! What did that kid think he was doing, running off like that?!

"NARUTO!" he called again.

He heard a whine.

"Huh-? Oh! Noishe!" he stopped. "Have you seen-?"

Noishe whined a a bit, looking over his shoulder at the blond on his back.

"..." Lloyd glared.

"Uh...Hi, Lloyd-" Naruto stammered.

"WHERE THE HECK DID YOU GO!?" the brunette snapped. "You're not supposed to be out of the hospital you idiot! Do you

know how worried I was-!?"

"I'm sorry I'm sorry-!" the blond stammered. "I was just riding Noishe around-"

"SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT-! ...Where's your cast?"

Naruto blinked and then looked at his leg.

"Took it off," he said.

Lloyd opened his mouth.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," Naruto said.

"...What?" Lloyd blinked. "What do you mean it-?"

Naruto slid off of Noishe's back and ran around in a quick circle before turning back to face Lloyd grinning.

"Doesn't hurt," he said.

Lloyd's jaw dropped.

"How...?"

POOF!

"Oh, hey," Kakashi eye-smiled, "yeah, sorry forgot to mention Naruto was out of the hospital."

"Why you son of a b-"

"Now don't get angry with me! You should've noticed he might have been let out yourself," Kakashi tsked.

"But his leg...it's really okay?" Lloyd stared.

"Kid heals fast," Kakashi muttered.

"Hi, Kakashi!" Naruto waved, as if he just noticed he was there.

"Hey there," the ninja smiled, "now why don't you go play with...Noishe, right?"

The protozoan nodded.

"Okay!" Naruto grinned, scrambling back onto Noishe. "It's so fun riding Noishe! I'll see you later, okay Lloyd nii-san?"

"Nii-?" Lloyd stared.

Noishe sprinted off, Naruto laughing on his back exclaiming about how 'totally cool' it was and how he could never possibly

get bored. The villagers of course, shot dirty looks but could do nothing else due to the speed he was moving. Lloyd made a

move to follow after when Kakashi stopped him.

"Hey, mind if we talk a bit?" Kakashi asked him.

"Me?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah, you," the ninja nodded.

"Um...sure..."

"Come on, I'll buy you lunch," he said, turning.

"...Hey, Kakashi, what does 'nii-san' mean?" Lloyd asked as he followed behind him.

"Sibling, like a brother or sister..."

Lloyd stopped walking.

"...What's the matter?" Kakashi asked.

"...Naruto really does like me, huh?" Lloyd said.

"He looks up to you," he stated, "now come on, or I'll take back my offer for lunch."

Lloyd laughed a bit and then followed the older male. By 'lunch' however Lloyd found he meant 'buy some take out and sit

on a bench in one of the training fields'. The swordsman didn't mind much however, seeing as the take-out really was pretty

good. As the brunette munched he thought of something. Yes, Lloyd thought of something, as impossible as that sounds.

"Hey..why you doing this?" he asked.

"Think of it as an apology," Kakashi shrugged.

"For what?"

"Well, you ARE my age, so I felt obligated to make it up a bit...that and I personally would enjoy spending time with

someone my own age after...how long have you been like this? Three years?"

"Since before I came here," Lloyd said, not a complete lie...

"Right," Kakashi said.

"Hey, have you eaten anything yet? You haven't taken off your mask-"

Lloyd leaned over to see that Kakashi's food was gone. All of it.

"What the-?!" Lloyd went bug-eyed.

"'What the' what?" Kakashi asked innocently.

"How the hell did you-!?" Lloyd stared.

"Anyway, I noticed you and Kratos-san have a rather large supply of chakra...the wings in particular," he eyed Lloyd.

"Huh? W-well...yeah, you could say that," the boy said.

"...So, do you actually form your chakra into that shape, or...?"

"Form?" Lloyd stared. "Uh...I don't know, I just kind of think about it and they come out."

"Interesting...can you fly?"

"...Did you just buy me lunch so you could study me?" Lloyd asked blandly.

"What? I'm hurt," Kakashi mocked gasped.

"...Oh fine, I really don't mind," Lloyd sighed, "so long as you don't try to dissect me."

"Dissect you?"

Lloyd paused and then looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah...you see, I had a teacher who tried to dissect Dad and me once..."

"...Should I ask?"

"No."

"M'kay then," Kakashi stated, flipping open a book.

"What's that about?" Lloyd asked.

There was a silence. Kakashi looked at his little orange book and then at Lloyd before looking back at his book.

"...You're over eighteen, right?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah,"

More silence.

"..Okay, look at it real quick,"

Kakashi handed Lloyd the book and the swordsman hesitated a minute before reading a page... Then choking on his saliva

and blushing furiously. Lloyd's eye twitched before he shoved it back to Kakashi, severely embarrassed.

"H-how can you read that in public-!?"

"Because it's...entertaining," Kakashi said slyly.

"You sick sick bastard..." Lloyd said flatly.

"You flatter me, Lloydie-boy,"

"I told you to stop-!"

"All right all right," Kakashi sighed.

"By the way, are you sure you're okay? That Madara guy kinda owned you..."

The ninja glared.

"Well...he did..."

"...I'll be fine, I'm much better already however," Kakashi stated as he stood up, "well, I should be on my way about now...

Oh yes...one more thing... Lloyd."

"Huh?" Lloyd looked at him.

"...Being the only one that can actually understand the situation...if you ever want to talk to someone your own age, I'll see

if I'm available..." he said slowly.

Lloyd looked at Kakashi a minute, masked ninja looking away somewhat. There was a silence before Lloyd grinned.

"All right, I'll remember that," he said, "thanks."

"Eh, no problem,"

Then he poofed away...

"I NEED to learn how to do that!!" Lloyd groaned.

**Well, sorry for the shortness...n.n'**

**Sarutobi: You didn't explain much.**

**Me: Well DUH, I don't explain things the chapter after I bring it up! What would be the fun in that?**

**Sarutobi: So in other words, you enjoy keeping your readers in the dark.**

**Me: Yep!**

**Sarutobi:...Right...(Drinks sake a reader gave him) ...review?**


	6. Graduation

**We're back! n.n**

**Sarutobi: Gasp, I'm surprised.**

**Me:...I hate you sometimes.**

**Sarutobi: Yep. Freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**Me: Sorry for the wait, I blame writer's block, Naruto fillers, and Radiata Stories...damn that game is addicting... I just **

**can't get through the damn sewers...T.T why is it always the sewers...?**

**Graduation**

"NARUTO! GET DOWN FROM THERE!!"

"Oh snap-!!"

Iruka belted out his evil teacher roar at the hyperactive blond whom was currently vandalizing the Hokage faces. Because of

the scene Naruto was creating it was only a matter of seconds before a certain brunette had also arrived on the scene. The

twelve-year-old clad with a bright red shirt, a lightweight brown vest and blue shorts combined with the sword at his back

looked up at the scene with a trace of a scold that was being combated by his urge to laugh at the scene.

"Lloyd! Control your friend!" Iruka said.

"Why? It's so funny," Lloyd grinned.

BAM!

"Ow!!"

"NARUTO YOU GET DOWN HERE RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!"

"MAKE ME!" Naruto shouted down. "I-!"

"Now what do you think you're doing, young one?"

"...Oh...snap..."

Naruto slowly turned from the rope he was hanging on to see an irritated looking Kratos standing on the mountainside via

his 'chakra'. The blond's eyes slowly widened into an expression of indescribable horror.

"...H-hi, Kratos-san..."

Kratos glared.

"...You're going to kill me now, aren't you?"

"Naturally,"

"...LLOYD NII-SAN! HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLPPPP!!"

"Are you crazy?! And have him mad at me?!" Lloyd shouted back.

"I HATE YOU LLOYD!!"

"I'd advice against resisting," Kratos stated.

"NO! HEEEEEELLLLPPPP!!"

So it was that a few minutes later Naruto had been handed over to a disgruntled Iruka and both the blond and his 'nii-san'

were back in class... Though yes, Naruto was tied up so Iruka could scold him, other than that however, everything was

normal. Aside from the graduation exam being tomorrow...

"All right," Iruka said, finishing his rant, "all of you, since Naruto decided to rob a bit of our time we're going to make up with

it through a pop quiz!"

Lloyd screamed like a little girl, earning howling laughter from Kiba.

"Thanks a lot, Naruto!" a classmate snapped.

"Yeah!" another student scoffed.

"All you have to do is a transformation," Iruka stated, "everyone get in line and I'll tell you what to transform into. Get-!"

POOF!

Silence.

"...Lloyd, you don't have to do that for walking to the front..." Iruka sighed.

"But it's so cool!" Lloyd protested.

Iruka sighed, rubbing his forehead, "Anyway, let's begin..."

The line proceeded a few students...Sakura, then Sasuke, then Naruto...

"HENGE!" Naruto shouted.

POOF!

Then Iruka got a nosebleed as Naruto used the technique to transform into a busty, naked blond woman. Half the class

shielded their eyes and the other yelled at Naruto for being an immature brat.

"I call it my sexyjutsu!" Naruto grinned as he turned back.

"NARUTO!!"

Of course, it ended with Naruto getting another scolding before class let out for the day.

"Well...you were kinda asking for it with that one..." Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh come on! Aren't you on my side?!"

"Of course, but that means I gotta point out when you do something wrong,"

"Hmph, jerk..." Naruto muttered.

Lloyd sighed, "Anyway, the graduation exam's tomorrow-"

"HOLY CRAP, IT IS!?"

Lloyd stared.

"...Um...Naruto, he just mentioned that."

"You think I was actually listening?" Naruto stared.

"Huh, good point...I don't listen to him much either," Lloyd admitted.

"That's because you sleep in class."

"I do NOT-...Shikamaru sleeps more," he muttered.

"Well, I gotta go clean off the mountain now..." Naruto groaned.

"It WAS funny though," Lloyd grinned.

"Mmeh," Naruto pouted, downcast.

"...Hey, are you okay-?"

"I'm fine!" Naruto grinned widely. "Well, I guess I better get working on that mountain I guess...see you later, Lloyd nii-san!"

POOF!

"..." Lloyd sighed, "what's got him this time...?"

Well, Lloyd made his way home and plopped onto the couch. School was so boring! It was better than a normal school, sure,

but it was still dull whenever they actually had to sit there and STUDY something...

"Hello, Lloyd," Kratos said, walking into the room.

"Huh-? Dad! Why're you home so early?" Lloyd asked, sitting upright.

"I completed my missions early," he said simply, "they aren't that difficult, after all."

"Oh,"

"So...the graduation exam is tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" Lloyd grinned. "Finally! No more school!"

"If you pass,"

"Well meh," he stuck out his tounge, "geez, Dad, you always gotta be so...uh..."

"Pessimistic?"

"Yeah, that word," Lloyd said.

Kratos sighed.

"..." Lloyd's face fell.

"What is it?" Kratos asked.

"...Nothing, I just...we've been here what, seven years now?"

Kratos nodded.

"How much longer do you think until we can go back?"

"..."

Kratos thought a minute before he finally answered.

"You miss your friends, correct?"

"Well...yeah," Lloyd sighed, "and geez...it's been SEVEN YEARS...say we do get back and...I'm still like this. Even if I'm not,

I've missed a lot..."

"...I see," Kratos closed his eyes.

"And...and even if we can go back...what about Naruto?" Lloyd sighed. "I don't want him to be all alone here again..."

"Hm? Has he been having problems again?"

"Someone threw a rock at him yesterday, but other than that..."

"..."

"Dad, why does everyone hate him so much?"

"...I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually,"

"Oh come on!" Lloyd snapped. "You never tell me anything!"

"Yet you always manage to find out," Kratos stated.

"Well...okay, that bit might be true."

"Hmph," Kratos nodded.

Noishe whined.

"Noishe is hungry, feed him while I start dinner,"

With that the ex-Seraph simply left him alone.

"...Oh sure, not even a 'please'..." Lloyd mumbled, "all right, Noishe! Be right there!"

In the kitchen the ancient warrior was lost in his thoughts. Eventually they would return...then what? Would he...still go to

Derris-Kharlan? Did he want to? No, no he didn't, but... Either way, by that time things would be different...he would have to

watch his son grow old and die while he remind the same. It was convenient enough to explain here with excuses such as

'jutsu' and 'kekkei genkai' to explain his appearance, but...it didn't change the fact that one day Lloyd would die, and he'd

still be alive...regardless of how dead he felt...

* * *

"...H-hey...Naruto..."

The blond slowly looked up from his swing, his eyes deadened looking at the appearance of his brunette friend...whom was

now wearing the Konoha headband upon his brow.

"...You know, this is the only test I've actually ever passed, right? So you shouldn't...I mean, look, you can..."

"It's okay, nii-san," Naruto muttered sadly, "you don't have to try and cheer me up..."

"Well I never HAVE to do anything, dork!" Lloyd scoffed. "...Seriously, look, it's not that big a deal...you can try again, right?"

"Lloyd, I've failed three times."

"I failed twice-"

"You failed so I wouldn't feel bad!" Naruto exclaimed. "I know you did! The only reason you passed this time is because I

took it after you, you jerk!"

"What-? That's-!"

"Lying is the first step toward the path of thievery!" Naruto pointed.

"Oh come on, you remember that but not anything Iruka-sensei says...?"

"Yeah, well...same to you," the blond huffed.

"...Touche," Lloyd muttered, "...Naruto-"

"I-I'll be okay, really," Naruto said, turning away from him, "just let me have a little time and I'll...I'll be okay, okay?"

"...N-"

"I'm fine," Naruto grinned, "okay? So...it's okay."

"..."

"So um...I'm sure Kratos-san wants to celebrate with you...I'll go now," Naruto said bitterly.

"H-hey-!"

There was a burst of smoke and then the blond was gone.

"..."

"He fail again?"

Lloyd flinched, turning at the sound of the voice.

"Yeah, Kakashi..." Lloyd sighed.

"Well...what you gonna do?" the copy-nin shrugged.

"...Are you still reading that crap?"

"Crap!?" Kakashi gasped. "I'll have you know, Make-Out Paradise is a MASTERPIECE, every word is like-"

"I'm bored," Lloyd said.

Kakashi twitched.

"You get bored so easily, Lloydie-boy."

"I'm not a-!"

"Yeah yeah," Kakashi shrugged, "when you're my height we can discuss that."

"I was..." Lloyd muttered.

"But you're not now!" Kakashi eye-smiled.

"...I hate you sometimes."

"I love you too, Lloydie-boy."

"Don't you have some mission to go on?"

"Hm...nope, won't be having many missions of my own for a long time..."

"Huh?" Lloyd blinked.

"Nothing," he eye-smiled, then disappeared.

"...Nothing is always something..." Lloyd muttered.

With that, the angel decided to head back home.

However, when he got back to the apartment he shared with his father he found it empty with the exception of the sleeping

furball in the corner. Lloyd sighed and sat down on the sofa, his eyes glazed and distant looking. Kratos would be back

soon, he knew, but...how was everyone doing back home? He really couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about it... It was

then that the door opened and Lloyd turned to see his father in the entry way, the ancient warrior observing his son a

minute before walking forward to speak to him.

"I see you passed," he smiled softly.

Lloyd grinned, fondling his headband, "Well of course!"

"...So I take it Naruto-?"

"No," Lloyd sighed.

"...I see," Kratos sighed, "...that child seems to be quite hopeless at times..."

"Dad! How can you say that?! Naruto tries his hardest-!"

"Calm down, Lloyd," Kratos said, "...you're rather emotional today."

"...Sorry," Lloyd sighed, "...I just..."

"...I'm sure it will all work out, Lloyd," Kratos stated.

"Huh? What will?" Lloyd looked at him.

"I've got something for you,"

"Huh? What will work out? Come on, t-...you got me something?"

Kratos hesitated a minute before pulling something out of his pack.

"...I...intended to give this to you eventually..." he fidgeted, "I was debating on the proper time...it was my father's."

Lloyd almost fell over.

"Woah woah WOAH! YOUR Dad's!? That's...that's...!!"

"Ancient, I know," Kratos said blandly, "...here."

Kratos placed something the size of Lloyd's palm into his outstretched hand. It appeared to be a flat, intricately designed

emblem carved from some fine metal. Despite its age it shone brilliantly and every detail was meticulously cared for,

evidentially Kratos maintained it well. Attached to it was a small chain, not long enough for a necklace of any sort, but rather

as if it were to be attached to something else. The design itself appeared to be an extravagant sword that was formed by

strands of the metal which weaved about each other. At the hilt two long wings flared outward and then around the blade,

making an oval like shape when all was said and done. Lloyd stared at it a moment, dumbfounded.

"...It was the family crest."

Lloyd looked up.

"...Crest...?" he said.

"...In Sylvarant, Colette's family had crest, did it not?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah!" Lloyd said. "It was on all the oracle stones and stuff!"

"A crest is a symbol of a family line, though besides being a symbol there is the crest itself which the main branch passes

down," Kratos stated, "...I was born into the knighthood in Tethe'alla, thus the sword."

"Wow..." Lloyd gaped at the object, "...hey! You were a knight?!"

"Yes," Kratos nodded, "I served a Queen by the name of Solielle before I met Mithos, Martel and Yuan."

"You never told me that!"

"You never asked," Kratos smirked slightly.

"Hmph," Lloyd pouted, "...hey, why the wings, then?"

"...I was born about thirty years before the end of the Kharlan War," Kratos stated, "which lasted a thousand years. Half-

way through that time they began dabbling with exspheres, and about three-hundred years before I was born Cruxis

Crystals were being manufactured."

"..." Lloyd looked at him.

"...They were experimental, skeptical works at first," Kratos stated, "top secret projects that the governing forces killed to

get their hands on... When they did, however, they were to be equipped to soldiers... A clan of knights was what was

decided by the Tethe'allan monarchy. However, the King of that time did not wish to force the 'new technology' onto

anyone... My ancestor, whom was the head of my family at the time, volunteered... In short, the project was a success and

the Aurions became the first family of angels. The wings commemorate that."

"...Wait...so your WHOLE family was...?" Lloyd asked.

"Everyone who served in combat, yes," Kratos nodded, "...I was put through the angelic transformation at thirteen."

"...Wow..." Lloyd said, at a loss for words.

"..."

"...W-wait...so you're giving me this?!"

"Of course,"

"But...didn't...?"

"My father gave it to me shortly before he died," Kratos stated, "...and I simply wish for you to have it."

"But...this is really important to you, isn't it?" Lloyd looked at him.

"..."

Kratos looked at him a minute and then a slow, strained smile crept upon his lips.

"Yes, which is precisely why I wish for you to have it."

Lloyd looked up at his father, his eyes wide as Kratos smiled softly at him. Slowly Lloyd curled his fingers over the crest and

grinned widely. He knew his father loved him, he had for years, but...to give him something like this... It just made him so

happy, like when he was given flamberge...

"Thanks, Dad..." he grinned.

"...Heh," Kratos smirked, "...now, I'll make you something to celebrate."

"Oh sweet!!"

So it was that the small family celebrated in the form of a rather delectable dinner, Lloyd shoveling it all away in his usual

fashion. It wasn't until later that night that word got out about the theft.

"Naruto did what?!" Lloyd gasped.

"He stole a valuable scroll from the Hokage," Kratos stated, pulling on his gloves and readjusting his sheath, "we'll have to

go out and find him."

"B-but Dad! You know that most of the people looking for him will...try to..."

"That's the point," Kratos stated, "we'll have to find him before someone else does."

"...We?"

"Well, you're going to look as well, are you not?" Kratos looked at him.

Lloyd grinned.

"Damn straight!"

"Heh," Kratos smirked slightly, "then we should hurry. Take Noishe, you'll go faster on him."

"Right!"

The angelic pair and their 'dog' were soon racing through the woods. They had thought it would be best to split up in order

to cover more ground, Lloyd covering the training fields because he knew that if Naruto went anywhere it would most likely

be there... He had been looking for several minutes when his angelic hearing picked up a conversation up ahead...

"Give me the scroll, Naruto,"

...Wait...was that Mizuki-sensei?

"Don't give it to him! He just wants to use it for his own ends!!"

Iruka! And Naruto was probably up there from the sound of it.

"Hurry up, Noishe!" Lloyd said.

The arhsis whined and picked up the pace, shredding small plants underfoot.

"Your little demon wants it as bad as I do, Iruka..."

Demon?

"What...? What're you talking about...?" Naruto's voice trailed.

"Mizuki-!" Iruka cried.

"Oh yeah, you don't know, do you? Heheheheheheh..."

"Don't-!!" Iruka blurted.

"Be quiet, Iruka! I'll tell you, little fox, did you ever wonder why it was that everybody hates you? Just you? Out of the entire

village?" Mizuki's voice crowed.

Lloyd felt his blood run cold, curiosity eating at him.

"MIZUKI!!" Iruka roared.

"I'll tell you why, you know about the nine-tailed fox demon that attacked our village years ago? The tragedy and ruin it

brought?" the man continued, ignoring Iruka.

"Don't listen to him, Naruto-!"

There was the sound of a weapon hitting flesh, and a hacking sound.

"Iruka-sensei-!!" Naruto's voice cried.

"Ever since then the village was bound by the strictest decree, that no one should ever tell you or anyone else that what

you really are..." Mizuki laughed, "IS THE NINE-TAILED FOX!"

Lloyd's eyes widened. He had heard about the demon attack before, how the Fourth Hokage had defeated it, but...what

could Mizuki mean saying Naruto WAS that thing? It wasn't possible...

"Our beloved Fourth Hokage could not kill you, so instead he sealed you into human form so you could no longer terrorize

our land and slaughter our people like the monster you are!"

"B...but..." Naruto stammered.

Lloyd and Noishe burst into the clearing just in time to see a large shuriken in Iruka's back, seeing as he had shielded

Naruto from the weapon Mizuki had thrown toward the blond.

"Iruka-sensei!!" both Naruto and Lloyd cried.

"What the-? Oh, it's the Aurion brat," Mizuki snorted.

Lloyd turned to face the snarling Mizuki as Iruka and Naruto exchanged a small heart-to-heart Lloyd tuned out for the sake

of their privacy. Though he did catch something about Iruka feeling sorry that he hadn't been kinder to Naruto, because he

knew what it felt like to be alone. With that however, Naruto ran off and Mizuki followed after him. Lloyd gritted his teeth

and dashed over to Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei-!!" he said.

"Lloyd? What are you doing here...?" Iruka said.

"I came to look for Naruto-"

"Damn it!" Iruka blurted, then poofed away after Naruto and Mizuki.

"What the-!? Oh come on!" Lloyd growled. "Let's go after them, Noishe!"

When he did manage to catch up to them again, he found Iruka leaning against a tree with Mizuki telling him that the way to

'avenge his parents' was to kill Naruto, who he persisited on saying was the nine-tailed fox. Lloyd came to the scene himself

when Iruka was ending his speal...

"I hate the fox...but not the boy, not Naruto," Iruka said, "he tries his hardest...even though it's hard for him... He's an

excellent student, and he always does his best... That boy is no longer your demon fox!!"

"Why you...!"

Mizuki hurled a large shuriken at Iruka before zooming up himself-

"Guardian!" Lloyd shouted, blocking the shuriken in front of Iruka.

Naruto took care of the rest.

"GAH-!!"

"Lloyd-? NARUTO-!" Iruka gasped.

Naruto had appeared from nowhere and bashed Mizuki away, snarling.

"You lay a hand on my sensei again...and I'll KILL you..." he growled.

"Why you little fox brat-!!"

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!!"

Both Iruka and Lloyd gaped as Naruto formed an army of himself in the form of clones, however, as shocked as they were,

Mizuki looked even moreso as he promptly got the living tar beat out of him by the blond knucklehead...

"Heh heh..." he chuckled a bit once the silver-head was in a heap, "I...guess I went overboard..."

"That was awesome!" Lloyd grinned.

Naruto flinched, apparently just realizing Lloyd was there.

"N-nii-san?!" he gasped. "When did-?! ...You heard that, didn't you?!"

"Huh? Heard what?" Lloyd blinked.

"About...me..." he said softly, fingering the whiskers on his face.

"...Dork, weren't you listening to Iruka-sensei?"

"Huh?"

"You're still you, nothing's changed," Lloyd grinned, "I don't care if you're a fox or a cat or whatever! You're still my friend

and I'm still nii-san. So don't be stupid, dork!"

"...He's right, Naruto," Iruka smiled weakly, "we...even if you are...you're..."

"Still you," Lloyd finished.

"Yeah, what he said," Iruka smiled, "we won't abandon you, Naruto..."

The blond looked between his teacher and his 'nii-san' a wide grin overcoming his face to mask tears of joy.

"...By the way, Naruto...I have something for you," Iruka smiled.

"Huh?"

"Close your eyes,"

Naruto blinked and then did so, then Iruka took off his headband and fastened it securely around Naruto's forehead,

handing the goggles to Lloyd, who smiled at the sight. Iruka told Naruto to open his eyes...

"Congratulations, you graduate!" he grinned.

Naruto was wide-eyed.

"As a reward, I'll take you out for ramen, to celebrate," he smiled.

"...I-Iruka sensei-!!"

Naruto tackled his teacher in a hug, sniffling. Lloyd watched on with a grin, and didn't look away until the sound of landing

feet behind him signaled that his father had arrived. Kratos looked over the scene, the mutilated Mizuki, the scroll lying off to

the side, and the hugging Iruka and Naruto and smirked.

"...Well, I see everything was taken care of here," he said simply.

"Well duh, what did you expect?" Lloyd grinned.

"...Quite right, Iruka's more than capable of handling things,"

"Yeah- ...hey wait! You're saying I'm not?!"

"I said nothing of the sort,"

"Dad-!!"

"Kratos-san?" Naruto said, noticing the arrival.

"Kratos-san..." Iruka trailed.

"You're injured," Kratos stated, "...hold still..."

Kratos made several handsigns. Ever since the incident with Kakashi and Madara, he had decided it best to disguise spells

as jutsu, although really they were just a ruse as he muttered the incantation under his breath.

"Healing wind," he said.

Iruka's body glowed with a green light before it faded, most of his injuries healing up.

"Woah... That's amazing..." he whispered.

"We should all get back to the village, it's late," Kratos stated.

"Right! ...So um..." Naruto trailed.

"What?" Lloyd asked.

"...Does that mean no ramen until tomorrow?"

**XD! Did I ever mention I love that kid?**

**Sarutobi: Several times, I believe.**

**Me: Oh shut up...**

**Sarutobi: Review if you wish. n.n**


	7. Surprises

**Well, okay! Here we go with lucky number seven! Hopefully this one won't sound as rushed...**

**Sarutobi: You have yet to learn patience, young one.**

**Me: You know what? Shove it...jerk...(grumbles)**

**Sarutobi: Tsk... Freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**Me: I hate you all...(grumbles some more)**

**Surprises**

"...I'm bored,"

"WE KNOW!!"

Sakura and Naruto groaned, Sasuke, as usual, said and did nothing while he tried to ignore his 'team'...which he quite

frankly thought was a bunch of idiots. Why was it he had the bad luck to get stuck with the fangirl and the idiot, then of

course, since there was an extra why NOT throw the monkey with ADHD in too? ...The one in red, that was. Naruto might

have been annoying, but at least he had an attention span longer that a goldfish...

"Oh man! Where is our sensei?!" Naruto griped. "We've been waiting for hours!"

"Maybe he got lost on the road of life," Lloyd shrugged, using one of Kakashi's favorite excuses.

"Tch," Sasuke snorted.

"...Mmeh, lookit me, I'm Mr. Emo-I'm-too-cool-to-breathe! Mmeh!" Naruto muttered.

"Shut it, loser," Sasuke hissed.

"Don't you two go at it again!" Lloyd said. "We know what happened last time..."

Naruto promptly threw up, Sakura began to twitch and Sasuke sent Lloyd a glare that probably would've killed him if he

hadn't been living with Kratos over the past seven years. After all, earlier when Naruto and Sasuke had had one of their

'fights' it had ended rather...awkwardly...

"What?! I do NOT want to see that again!" Lloyd snapped, shuddering.

"Nii-san-! Stop-! Ugh!" Naruto threw up again.

"...I'm not cleaning that," Sakura said.

It was several more minutes of excessive boredom later that Naruto finally got ticked enough to attempt to set a 'trap' for

their sensei... The 'trap' of course, being an eraser wedged between the doorway...

"...Our sensei's an elite ninja, he'll never fall for a trick like that," Sasuke hissed.

"...Erasers are evil..." Lloyd muttered under his breath.

It was then that the door opened...and the eraser plopped onto the teacher's head.

"HAH! You actually fell for-! ...Hey...you're-" Naruto started.

"Kakashi?!" Lloyd blurted.

"Hiya, Lloydie-boy," Kakashi smiled, ignoring the chalk dust on his head.

"What? You know him?" Sakura asked.

"Well yeah-... YOU'RE OUR SENSEI!?"

"Yep," he eye smiled, "isn't that wonderful? The five of us, a team."

"..." Lloyd bashed his head against the desk, "kill me now."

"I-I'm sorry about them sensei! I told Naruto not to but-!"

"You did nothing of the sort," Sasuke said curtly.

"W-well...I..."

"Oh well...by the way, sorry I'm late, I got lost on the road of life..."

Everyone looked at Lloyd.

"...Told ya," he smirked.

"At any rate...I don't think it matters," he eye-smiled, "after all, from the looks of things I got assigned a bunch of idiots."

"W-what-?! Hey-!" Naruto started.

"Anyway, let's head up to the roof, shall we? It's nicer up there."

With that he simply turned and headed off.

"H-hey! Wait! Come back here!" Naruto shouted, racing after him.

Sakura followed after as did Lloyd, Sasuke rolling his eyes before doing the same. Once on the roof Kakashi began

his...greetings, of sorts...

"All right, I want you each to tell me about yourselves, your likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future.." he said.

"Well why don't you start then, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said.

"Hm? You mean you don't know about me?" the copy-nin blinked.

"Er...well I remember you a little...but that was when I was seven!" the blond griped, crossing his arms. "It's not like you

came by to hang out after that..."

"After what?" Sakura blinked.

"It doesn't matter, I'll start," Kakashi said, "all right, I'm Kakashi Hatake, I don't particularly have any likes and dislikes, I

have many hobbies, my dreams for the future are none of your business-"

"And he reads dirty-books in public,"

"And I read d-..."

Everyone looked at Lloyd who grinned sheepishly.

"...All right, Lloydie-boy's scapegoat from now on, we fail a mission and it's automatically his fault, agreed?"

"Yep!" Sakura smiled.

"Fine," Sasuke smirked.

"HAH HAH!" Naruto pointed.

"H-hey..." the brunette pouted.

"Right, anyway, let's start with you," he pointed at Naruto.

"Huh-? Sure!" Naruto grinned. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen! I especially like pork ramen and miso or the ramen at

Ichirakus! I REALLY like the ramen Iruka-sensei or Lloyd nii-san and Kratos-san get me sometimes and I hate the three

minute wait you have for instant ramen-"

"..." the group stared as he continued his rant.

_All he thinks about is ramen... _Kakashi sighed.

"And my dream is to become the greatest Hokage!" Naruto smiled determinedly. "That way everyone will stop disrespecting

me and treat me like I'm somebody! Somebody important!"

"...Well..." Kakashi muttered.

"Hey, and I don't?" Lloyd teased.

"Besides you of course, nii-san," Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Right, I'll go next," Lloyd said, "I'm Lloyd Irving Aurion, I like training with my Dad, hanging out with Naruto and sneaking

itching powder into shuriken holsters of certain one-eyed perverts-"

"That was you?!" Kakashi growled.

Sakura burst out laughing but quickly covered it while Sasuke smirked.

"AHAHAHAH!" Naruto laughed. "That's hilarious, Lloyd nii-san!!"

"I dislike people who treat others like crap for no reason, people who ditch their friends for selfish reasons and people who

think they're better than everyone else," Lloyd said.

A moments pause to think of who all those apply to... (COUGHSasukeCOUGH).

"My dream...is to one day be reunited with some old friends," he said.

Kakashi nodded. That was to be expected.

"Okay, you," he pointed at Sakura.

And because no one could stand her giggles about Sasuke, they tuned her out until she said she hated Naruto. This of

course destroyed said blond's ego and he was in somewhat of a catatonic state while Sasuke explained his emoness. That

and something about his ambition was to kill someone...

_Itachi... _Lloyd and Kakashi frowned.

"...Well, that's that," the copy-nin stood up.

"Huh?"

"I'll meet you all tomorrow at training ground seven for the test," he said.

"W-what? What test? I thought we already passed?" Sakura frowned.

"No, out of the entire class who graduated only nine of you will actually become ninja, the rest go back to the academy," he

eye-smiled, "the graduation was simply to see who had potential."

Needless to say, this did not go over well.

"W-what-!?"

"Are you KIDDING!?"

"But that's..."

Sasuke twitched.

"W-wait! Our squad has four!" Sakura said. "So..."

"Yup," Kakashi eye-smiled, "now meet me in the morning, and don't eat breakfast. ...You'll throw up."

With a 'poof' he was gone.

"...W-well, that's fine!" Naruto laughed. "I'll pass anyway! Believe i-!"

"Naruto!" Lloyd snapped.

"O-okay! S-sorry nii-san-!"

"Heh, at least someone around here can control him," Sasuke smirked.

"Hey! Shut up, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto snarled.

"Whatever,"

With that, he made his exit and Sakura followed after him, being the stalker she is and all...

"That jerk! I'll total him! Mark my words!" Naruto growled.

"Heh heh," Lloyd grinned. "I'm sure you could, someday."

"H-huh?! What do you mean 'someday'!?" the blond snapped.

"Well...just keep up the training," Lloyd smiled nervously, "you're gonna be the best, right?"

"Believe it-! ...Woops, sorry."

Lloyd sighed, "It's okay...once in a while it's not that bad..."

"...Hey, nii-san," Naruto said.

"Yeah?" Lloyd looked at him.

"...Can you train with me for a bit? Please?" he asked.

"What?" Lloyd said. "Er...well...I guess..."

"Great! After yesterday with Konohamaru, I've been itching to train..."

"With who?" Lloyd asked.

"Nothing!" he laughed. "Let's go! Come on! Come on!"

"Hold your horses, the training field isn't going to blow up if we don't get there or-"

BOOM!

"...What the...?"

"What the heck was that?!"

The two ninjas (yes, Lloyd is a ninja...awkward as it is) headed for a nearby field (which happened to be a training field, go

figure) from which the explosion had sounded... In which, they found a wrecked contraption of some sort and an

unconscious, silver-haired youth lying by it...

"Ow..." the boy groaned.

Lloyd's eyes widened.

"G-?!"

"Hey!" Naruto was instantly at the boy's side. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Ooowww..." the youth groaned as he lifted his head, "man...who are you...?"

"Huh? I'm Naruto Uzumaki! But that doesn't matter, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah..." the boy groaned, getting to his feet, "I just...oh crap! The machine!"

The silver-head yelped as he saw the ruined contraption.

"Oh crap-! Raine's gonna kill me-!!" the boy cried. "Oh crap-! Wait! Where am I-!?"

"Woah woah woah! Calm down!" Naruto said. "What's your name?"

"I-I'm Genis-"

"Genis-?!"

Naruto burst out laughing, seeing as he inevitably found the humor everyone did when discovering the young male's name.

After all...I mean...come on...you'd have to be pretty damn oblivious NOT to get it...

"W-what are you laughing about!?" the boy flushed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry-! AHAHAHAHAH!"

"Yeah well- ...LLOYD!?"

Lloyd, whom had been attempting to decide whether he should run or greet his friend suddenly lost his choice.

"U-uh..." he blanked, "...Hi Genis?"

"Wait, you know him?" Naruto asked.

"L- Lloyd-!? What happened to you-!? You're-!"

"Um...heh heh..."

Lloyd grabbed Genis and put his hand over his mouth.

"Gotta go Naruto! Bye!"

Then he poofed off with the short half-elf.

"W-what-?! HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Naruto shouted.

Lloyd didn't stop until he was convinced they were off far enough.

"Mmph! Mmmph!" the shorter boy cried.

"Sorry about that..." Lloyd said, releasing him.

"What was that for!?" Genis snapped at him.

"It's really you!" Lloyd cried, his eyes wide.

"...Um...yeah..."

Then it clicked.

"LLOYD!? Why are you so-? So...my age?!" he gasped.

"Look, um, it's a very long story but-"

"Why are you dressed like that? Where are we?"

"Look, I'll tell you but first tell me how you got here."

"Huh? Well...um...Raine was messing with some equipment at one of the Renegade bases and...well, she went to the

bathroom and I fidgeted with it a little because it looked interesting...then I was here."

"..." Lloyd stared.

"..W-what? It's true!"

"Wait..so...um..."

"Have you been here this whole time, Lloyd?"

"Whole time?" Lloyd said.

"Yeah, we last saw each other a week ago, I was getting worried,"

Lloyd stared.

"...Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Why do you keep staring at me?" Lloyd retaliated.

"Well gee, I don't know," the young mage said sarcastically, "you look like you're my age, you're dressed weird, you only

have one sword and you don't have the exsphere- and what's that thing?"

Genis was pointing at the crest Kratos had given to him, which he had attached to the end of the sword hilt.

"Um...nothing," Lloyd said, "look...I'll explain everything, but first I should take you home before someone finds you."

"What?" Genis stared. "Home? Finds me?"

"Shush!" Lloyd said.

After all, if anyone found him they'd be more than a little suspicious, like when he and Kratos had come there.

"Look, just be quiet okay? Hold on,"

"Hold-? MMPH!"

Lloyd covered his friend's mouth again and raced off as fast as he could to his home. Thanking his ninja training and angelic

genes for his rather staggering speed and strength to be able to carry his friend that distance in a short amount of time.

Once they finally got into the building Lloyd grabbed Genis' hand and sped off through the complex before opening the door

to his apartment, racing inside and slamming the door shut behind him.

"...Whew..." he sighed in relief.

"Hff...hff..." Genis panted, "what was that about!?"

"Look, it's a really REALLY long story..."

"Best to begin explanations then, eh, Lloydie-boy?"

"Who the-?"

"KAKASHI-!?" Lloyd cried.

"Hi there," he eye-smiled, "now then, who's your friend?"

"I...I'm Genis..." he trailed.

"...Oh, GENIS! With a g! Whew, I was a bit put off there," Kakashi chuckled.

The half-elf pouted.

"So, Lloyd, you going to explain him, or what?" Kakashi asked.

"That depends," a deep voice said, "are you going to explain why you've intruded into our home?"

"Oh, Kratos-san," he said, "sorry about that..."

"Tch,"

"Kratos?!" Genis gaped. "Wh-...Why are you dressed like that?"

"..."

"Well? I'm a bit curious..." Kakashi's eyes narrowed.

"...Um..." Lloyd trailed.

"Please, someone just tell me what's going on...?" Genis moaned.

"...Very well then, Lloyd, explain," Kratos stated.

"What-!? Why do I have to-?"

Kratos glared.

"Y-yes sir..."

So they spilled the beans. On everything. Lloyd told both Genis and Kakashi how the had come here about seven years

ago, how they had taken to living in this village and how they were stuck here until Lloyd could once more use the Eternal

Sword. Then of course, they had to explain the Eternal Sword to Kakashi... he was both skeptical and intrigued.

"So...you three are from a different PLANET and have some sort of power that can teleport you back and forth, is that what

you're telling me?" Kakashi asked with a raised brow. "...I may be unorthodox, but that's just ludicrous."

"Yet you believe it," Kratos stated.

"Hm? And what makes you say that?" Kakashi asked.

"Because it fills in some holes, does it not? You had suspicions of our origins, why Lloyd is how he is, and I know for certain

you didn't buy the kekkei genkai story I fed you seeing as you informed the Hokage of it almost immediately after I told

you," Kratos said simply.

"...Ah...you knew about that..." Kakashi chuckled nervously.

"Indeed, I know it is your duty so I hold no grudge for that however..." Kratos stated simply.

"...Then you realize we must inform him of this?"

"About Genis, yes, though he already knows about Lloyd and myself."

"He does?!" Lloyd stared.

Kratos nodded, "...He has for a few years..."

"Wait...so you guys have been stuck here...am I stuck here too!?" Genis yelped.

"W-well..." Lloyd fidgeted.

"...Oh man, Raine's going to have a heart attack...after she kills me..."

"...We're going to have to inform Hokage-sama," Kakashi stated, "...I trust the three of you will come without me dragging

you there, am I right?"

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded, "let's go-"

"NOT WITHOUT ME YOU DON'T!"

Lloyd and Genis jumped while the taller two simply sighed.

"N-naruto-!" Lloyd cried, seeing the blond had apparently been spying on them.

"You didn't tell me you were from another PLANET, nii-san!!" the blond roared at Lloyd.

"W-well, past the angel thing and the age thing I thought-"

"Nii-saaaaaaan! You never tell me anything!" Naruto whined.

"Um... What's 'nii-san', Lloyd?" Genis asked.

"...Uh..."

"It means 'brother'," Kakashi said.

"W-what?!" Genis stared.

"He just calls me that-" Lloyd started.

"WHAT?!" Naruto snapped. "Nii-san! I thought you-!"

"I do! But we're not REALLY-"

"Well no, but come on! You said-!"

"Huh-?!" Genis blurted.

"Enough!" Kakashi shouted. "Naruto, Lloyd, and Shrimpy, shut up."

"Hey-!" Genis started.

"Come on, we are ALL going to the Hokage," Kakashi said, "...because obviously Naruto won't leave us alone."

"Believe it!"

Everyone except Genis sighed.

"What? He say that a lot or something?" Genis asked.

Kakashi burst into laughter, greatly annoying the blond.

* * *

Several hours later, the Hokage had been informed of the newcomer half-elf, what exactly Lloyd and Kratos were, how they

had come there, etc and so forth... The Hokage had the same reaction as Kakashi, to put it shortly, however he could tell

they were not lying...he WAS the Hokage after all.

"Hm... So the young one there needs to find a way home.." he frowned.,"Some of the Anbu already excavated the machine

that Genis-chan is talking about, if I believe it to be the same...perhaps we can investigate it and see what we can make of

this situation..."

"I'd like to look at it as well," Kratos stated, "I have a fair amount of knowledge of technology from where it originated."

"...Very well then," he nodded, "though I will have to ask you further about this world of yours, Kratos-kun..."

"...As you wish," Kratos nodded.

Well, that's as far as the younger members got to hear it, seeing as it was getting late and they were ordered home, with

Genis having to spend the night at the Aurion's...needless to say they resisted, however...

"But-!"

"Lloyd, take Genis home, I'll be there later," Kratos stated.

"What?! We need to figure out how to get Genis home to his sister!" Lloyd cried. "We can't just-!"

"You said so yourself, Lloyd-chan," Sarutobi stated, "you have no way."

"W-well yeah but..." Lloyd stammered, "...and why do you still keep calling me 'chan'?! You know how old I am!"

"And I have for years," the old man smiled, "but it's still fun to call you that."

Lloyd's eye twitched.

"...Hah hah," Genis smirked.

"Shut it, Genis!"

"Hmph..." Naruto pouted.

"The point is, the three of you need your rest, we'll continue the discussion-"

"The three of us?" Lloyd glared. "I'm old enough to be in this conversation!"

"However, you act how you appear," Kratos stated.

"...You're mean," Lloyd glared.

"I merely speak the truth," Kratos stated, "now do as the Hokage says and go home."

"Yeah, and you two are going to be busy tomorrow anyhow..." Kakashi eye-smiled at his pupils.

"Huh? ...Oh yeah-!" Naruto gasped. "The test-!!"

"Oh crap I forgot!" Lloyd cried.

"Test? What test? And why aren't you screaming like a baby, Lloyd?" Genis asked.

"Shut up!"

"Okay fine!" Naruto huffed. "I'm going! But someone better tell me what happened!"

"Shoot..." Lloyd groaned, "...come on Genis..."

"...All right," the half-elf nodded, recognizing defeat.

The three twelve year olds- though Lloyd wasn't really one, left the office in defeat, both Lloyd and Naruto sending pouting

glares back at the three adults in the room as they left. However, they had not gotten down the hallway before Naruto

stopped on heel, then turned to glare at the shorter, silver-head boy...

"So who are you anyway?!"

"W-what-!?"

"How do you know Lloyd nii-san!?"

"Lloyd? He's my best friend!"

Naruto's eye twitched.

"...Um...are you all right?" Genis asked.

"Y-you're...best friends...?" Naruto asked.

"Well yeah," Genis grinned.

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded.

Truth was, the swordsman was doing his best not to jump for joy at having his friend beside him. He had no idea how he

had ended up here, and he worried about how to get him home, but after seven years he was overjoyed to see his half-elf

friend... Even if the situation was...awkward.

"Genis and I were best friends since I was REALLY this age," Lloyd laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

Naruto's twitch worsened.

"Are you okay?" Genis asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Naruto said, trying to act like he was, "well...I'm sure you guys gotta lot of catching up to do, right? Being 

_best friends _and all that...so I'll just go and get out of your way, huh?"

"...Naruto? Are you...mad?" Lloyd asked.

"Mad?!" Naruto laughed. "That's silly, why would I be mad? I'm happy you guys got a little reunion, right? Heh heh!"

"Naruto-" Lloyd started.

"Look at the time, gotta go, bye!"

POOF!

"...What was that about?" Genis asked Lloyd.

"...I think I hurt his feelings," Lloyd muttered.

"Huh?"

"Well...Naruto doesn't have any friends, really, so..." Lloyd trailed.

"...Oh..." Genis frowned, "...oh...he thinks...that because I'm here you won't like him anymore?"

"I guess..."

"...Well he doesn't have to worry about that! You never let any of your friends down!"

"...Thanks," Lloyd smiled, "...I just hope he doesn't think I'll abandon him..."

"So...you've been here...years?" Genis trailed.

"Um...well...yeah..." Lloyd fidgeted.

An awkward silence fell.

"...So you're like, twenty-four really, aren't you?"

"...Kind of?"

More silence.

"...Raine would be trying to dissect you about now," Genis said.

Lloyd laughed, "Yeah, she probably would..."

"So um...what's the deal with the ninja stuff and why was Kratos...not wearing belts?"

The brunette laughed again.

"Yeah...boy have I got a lot to tell you!" Lloyd grinned. "First, I gotta tell you about this one time a few years back where

me and Kakashi ran into this creepy red-eyed guy named 'Madara'..."

Meanwhile, Naruto was chomping down his instant ramen before plopping onto his bed. Darn shrimpy kid had to show up...

The blond was more miffed about that Genis kid than finding out his nii-san was from an entirely different planet... Then,

after finding out what HE was, he kind of had to accept everyone easily... But still! Stupid Genis...and it had to be Lloyd's

'best friend'! He was a better friend than that guy! ...Sure, he didn't know much about him, but either way it didn't matter!

He shook his head, why was he thinking like this? Lloyd wouldn't just ditch him after getting a new friend...right? Would he?

The blond whimpered and tossed under the covers again, trying to get to sleep once more...

"Stupid Genis..."

**Yes, I threw the half-elf in here. Forgive me, though I don't think he'll stay long...or maybe he will, who knows. I just **

**go with it I guess...**

**Sarutobi: Hm...you seem to rather like that character...**

**Me: Who? Genis? No! Why do you think that?**

**Sarutobi: Well let's see...you gave him a fic based from his point of view, one of your earliest stories featured him, **

**you are pretty much bffs in your self-insert, you put him here...**

**Me:...Okay, I admit it then you old coot... I'm a fan of the little shrimp. Yes, I said it. I love the little mage! He's just so **

**cute and nice-...All of you shut up, review, and forget that happened, now.**

**Sarutobi: Isn't he a bit young for you?**

**Me: Eeeeww! I don't mean I love him like THAT! Sick old-! ...Is that...?**

**Sarutobi: (Hides 'Make-out Paradise' behind back) No...?**

**Me:...Sick old bastard...review?**


	8. The Test

**Well, mostly Genis in the story got positive results...**

**Sarutobi: Mostly.**

**Me: Oh shush! I'll make this work! Believe it!**

**Sarutobi:...**

**Me: OH CRAP IT'S CONTAGIOUS! AAAAGGGGGGHHH!!**

**Sarutobi: ...Freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**Me: UNLCEAN!**

**The Test**

"Lloyd!"

"Zzzzz..."

"Lloyd come on! You've gotta get up for your test, right?"

"Zzzzz..."

"Grrr..."

Genis huffed and crossed his arms, standing beside the couch where Lloyd had volunteered to sleep for the night. His red-

clad friend was snoring loudly, sprawled in the most awkward of positions on the couch that Genis was surprised he hadn't

fallen off...seeing as he was half off of the piece of furniture already... The half-elf sighed, at least this hadn't changed...

"He still hasn't waken up?" Kratos asked.

"No! He's gonna be late!"

"..."

Kratos moved forward.

"...Don't tell anyone about this," he stated.

"Huh? About what?"

Kratos walked over and grabbed one of Lloyd's feet...and then pulled on a toe.

"YEOWCH-!!" Lloyd jolted upright. "D-dad! The hell!? I told you not to do that!"

"My apologies, however you must get up if you wish to take your test on time."

"Oh so what? Kakashi's always three hours late anyway."

"It's 'Kakashi-sensei' now, and I don't care if he is late, get up,"

"Oh f-" Lloyd spotted Genis, "...oh crap, Dad, tell me you didn't do that in front of...?"

"..AHHAHAHAH!" Genis fell over laughing.

"...Thanks a lot, Dad," Lloyd pouted.

"Get up," Kratos stated, "we all have things to do."

"Oh fine..." Lloyd yawned, "...wait! What's Genis going to do-?"

"I'll just wait here until you get back," the half-elf smiled sheepishly, "I can't really go around town by myself or I'll probably

get lost... You're gonna have to show me around once your test is done."

Lloyd smiled, "Don't worry, I will... I should get ready to go-"

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" Genis asked.

"No, Kakashi-sensei said if I ate I'd throw up..."

Kratos and Genis raised an eyebrow.

"...Eat something," Genis said.

"What-?"

"If you don't eat you won't keep up your strength," Kratos stated, "that and I highly doubt whatever Kakashi can do to you

will make you throw up, you've been through far worse."

"Hm...yeah, good point," Lloyd nodded, "...all right..."

"Hey, why do you look so guilty?" Genis asked. "You break the rules all the time anyway."

"Shut it, Genis!"

Several minutes later, Kratos had left and Lloyd bade farewell to his half-elven friend, leaving him alone with Noishe in the

apartment. Lloyd regretted having to leave his friend alone for the day, but it really couldn't be helped. Though Kratos told

them that later, they all had to go look into the machine that had landed the young spell-caster here in the first place...

"H-hey! Nii-san!"

Lloyd turned his attention to the blond that ran up to him, grinning.

"Oh, hey Naruto," he smiled.

"Hee hee, hey!" Naruto grinned. "So um...ready for the big test or whatever?"

"You bet," Lloyd smiled, "...um...are you still...mad about yesterday?"

"Mad?" Naruto said. "What makes you think I was mad?"

"...I'm not going to stop being friends with you just because Genis showed up,"

"...W-what? Who said I was worried about that?" Naruto faked a laugh.

"...You always do that when you lie..." Lloyd smiled a bit, "heh heh."

"W-what!? What's so funny?!"

"Nothing, you just reminded me of someone-"

"Oh sure, another one of your 'friends' I haven't met?" Naruto huffed.

"Hah! You WERE worried about that!" Lloyd said.

"...Oh drat," Naruto pouted.

"Hey... Genis is my best friend...but you're my outoto, right?" Lloyd smiled softly.

Naruto's mask momentarily faltered, he looked like he was going to cry.

"Y-yeah? W-well...whatever!" the blond said in his usual loud fashion. "I wasn't WORRIED or anything anyway!"

"Riiiight..." Lloyd said.

There was a moment of silence.

"Race you to the field!" Lloyd dashed off.

"HEY! You cheater, nii-san!!" the blond followed after.

In the meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura were waiting for the two idiots to arrive...and almost belted them when the duo

almost plowed them over when they finally arrived on the scene.

"H-hah-! I won-!" Naruto said.

"Are you kidding? I won!" Lloyd said.

"No, I did!"

"I did!"

"..." Sasuke's eye twitched.

"You two are so immature!" Sakura scoffed.

"I didn't know having fun counted as being immature..." Lloyd smiled.

"...What?" Sakura fidgeted.

"Hah! Nii-san's a lot smarter than he looks!"

"...Then he'd have to be," Sasuke smirked.

"Hey!"

"Shut up, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto pointed.

"Don't yell at Sasuke!" Sakura said.

Lloyd rolled his eyes, "Ooo, Sasuke! His indifference to my existence is sooo hot!"

Naruto laughed at the mock Sakura impression Lloyd did, needless to say, Sakura wasn't pleased.

WHAM!

"Ow-!" Lloyd cried.

So it was that about an hour later...

"Morning class!"

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto pointed.

"Sorry class, a black cat crossed my path-"

"Yeah yeah, Kakashi, whatever," Lloyd said.

"It's Kakashi-_sensei_, Lloydie-boy,"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Right, anyway, let's begin, shall we?"

Kakashi then pulled three small bells from his pouch.

"Your job is to take these bells from me before noon," he said, "anyone without a bell by noon goes without lunch."

"What?!"

"Wait...there are only three bells..." Sakura noted.

"Exactly, so one of you goes hungry," Kakashi eye-smiled, "you have until noon. Begin!"

The four of them jolted off into hiding...

"Mmm..." Lloyd mused, wait...where did Naruto go-? Oh no...

"All right, Kakashi-sensei! You and me! One on one!" the blond exclaimed, having appeared before their one-eyed teacher.

"Hm...you're a little stupid, aren't you?" Kakashi asked.

"Shut up! HYAH!"

Lloyd groaned that Naruto went straight for the goal. Well..sure, he admitted he debated on doing that himself, but he was

actually to par with Kakashi in real life- sort of, whereas Naruto was just a genin... Oh well, might as well help the moron

out now that he was in deep.

"A THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!"

And then he watched as Naruto went flying into the lake holding his rear...

"...Uh..." Lloyd trailed, as did the other teammates.

"OW! You jerk!" Naruto burst out of the water. "You'll pay for that!"

"Hm...I rather doubt it," Kakashi smiled.

"Grr...I'll show you! Kage buushin no jutsu!"

A bunch of Naruto's appeared. Sakura and Sasuke, who watched in hiding, were more than a little surprised at the high-

rank jutsu the class clown had just performed

"Hm...shadow clones..." Kakashi mused.

"Get him!"

The multitude of Narutos attacked Kakashi, and for a brief moment the students actually found themselves staring as

Naruto managed to grab Kakashi from behind. The copy-nin appeared a bit shocked...

"This is revenge for what you did to my ass!" Naruto snapped.

One of his clones went to punch Kakashi...and then it's fist hit another Naruto.

"Huh-? Wait-! Where did-!?"

"He must of turned into one of us!" one of the clones shouted. "Where did-?!"

"Naruto!" Lloyd shouted. "Stop the jutsu! He's up there!"

"Huh? Oh!" Naruto spotted Kakashi in a tree.

"Oh? Helping your 'outoto', are we?" Kakashi smirked at Lloyd, who had come at him.

"Just because I don't like watching you rape little boys..." Lloyd said as he drew his sword and a kunai.

"What-? ...Oh you'll pay for that Lloydie-boy," Kakashi glared, parrying Lloyd's blades with a kunai of his own.

"Hyah! Hah!" Lloyd came at Kakashi with a mix between taijutsu and his original sword style, alternating between the

mana using techs and the martial arts moves he had picked up over his time here.

"Tch...I didn't even get a chance to pull out my book..." Kakashi griped.

"Stop whining and fight, Kakashi!"

_All right, where did Naruto go? _the sharingan user thought.

"BEAST! NOW, NARUTO!"

Kakashi braced himself but was still forced back a bit from the blast of 'chakra', this caused him to flinch just enough for a

certain blond hyper-active knuckle-head to come up behind him and attempt to grab the bells.

"Oh no you don't," Kakashi said, dodging the blond's fingers.

"RISING FALCON!" Lloyd cried, diving down at Kakashi.

He managed to dodge and then found himself looking at several Naruto shadow-clones which came at him from both

sides...

POOF!

"Agh! He used a substitution!?" Naruto cried.

"Dammit!" Lloyd snapped. "Come on, Naruto! He's gotta be around here somewhere!"

"Hey, look!" Naruto stared, noticing a glint of metal near a tree. "He dropped one!"

"What? But he wouldn't..." Lloyd frowned.

Naruto ran forward.

"Wait-!" Lloyd said. "It's a-!"

There was a yelp from the blond as he was yanked up into the air by his foot, having fallen for the rope trap.

"Ah-! Get me down from here-!"

Kakashi appeared and scooped up the bell.

"If the bait is obvious, don't take it," he smiled before disappearing again.

"WHY YOU-!!" Naruto cried.

Lloyd sighed, "Well, he was kinda right..."

"Oh shut up and get me down from here!!"

Lloyd put away his weapons, shaking his head as he went to release his outoto. Sasuke and Sakura, who had been

watching, sighed a bit and then went off to find Kakashi again... Well, actually it was more like Sasuke trying to find Kakashi

and take him on, and Sakura stalking him and completely ignoring the fact one of her other comrades was in trouble. As

Lloyd got Naruto on the ground again, the blond shouted insults to a non-present Kakashi as his stomach growled...

"Oh man...I haven't eaten a thing..." he whimpered.

"...Uhm...really?"

"Well yeah, we weren't supposed to- Hey! YOU'RE not hungry!"

"That's because I ate," Lloyd smiled sheepishly.

"NII-SAAAAAAAN!"

"Look, we almost got him, let's find him again and I'm sure we can snag those bells," Lloyd said.

"Guh..." Naruto whined, his stomach gurgling again.

"...Hey, isn't that...?"

Both boys directed their attention to the boxes of bento by the three posts.

"...Hellooooo lunch!" Naruto grinned, walking forward.

"Um...I'm not sure this is a good idea..." Lloyd frowned.

"Oh come on! If you were hungry you'd take it!" Naruto said.

"Well...probably, yeah," he admitted, "but I've got a bad feeling about this..."

Naruto's stomach growled loudly again.

"...Okay, hurry and eat one, I'll make sure Kakashi doesn't-"

"Catch you?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah-...oh snap, RUN FOR IT NARUTO!" Lloyd called.

"AH!" the blond yelped.

"Too late!"

Before they could react Naruto found himself tied to a post.

"H-hey! Holy crap he's fast!"

"Naruto-!" Lloyd moved forward.

"Nah uh uh," Kakashi tsked, "come on, Lloydie-boy, he broke the rules, let's go."

"Oh hell with the rules!" Lloyd shouted. "Geez, Kakashi, since when do you care so much about rules anyway?!"

"Gee..." Kakashi smiled a bit, "I wonder..."

There was a sudden silence.

"...Oh...Oh!" Lloyd's eyes widened. "I get it!"

"Yep, now I can't let you go tell the others so..."

He placed his hand to the ground, several nin-dogs appearing.

"Wha-?"

"Sic'em," Kakashi smiled.

"OH YOU CHEATING SON OF A-!!" Lloyd cried as he ran away from the dogs.

"Sorry about that, Lloydie-boy!"

"I'll get you for this you perverted bastard!!"

Kakashi shrugged and disappeared, leaving Naruto alone.

"...Hey! HEY! You're all just leaving me here?! You all suck!"

The next time the blond saw anyone was when the time ran out. Sasuke looked more disgruntled than usual, having

apparently tried to snag a bell only to get owned, Sakura...well, there was an embarrassingly cowardly scream earlier, and

Lloyd was nursing several dog bites, glaring at Kakashi as he tried to apologize to Naruto for not being able to untie him.

"Well, it's noon, and no one has gotten a bell," Kakashi said.

Lloyd fixed him with an 'Aurion-glare'.

"The good news is...I'm not sending you back to the academy," he said.

"Really?!" Naruto's face lit up.

"What? After I fainted like that...?" Sakura muttered.

"Yes, because only one of you actually might ever be fit to BE a ninja," Kakashi glared.

"W-what?"

"Lloyd is the only one who got the point of this exercise," Kakashi pointed, "well then...Naruto did too to some extent,

although I doubt he realized it, seeing as he didn't seem to think about it..."

"Grrr..." Naruto growled.

"However, all of you- again, with the exception of Lloyd, which might I add is pretty damn pathetic seeing as he has the IQ

of a turnip-" he started.

"Hey!" Lloyd snapped.

"Anyway, he's the only one who got it. Does anyone else know?"

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura fidgeted.

"...Pssh..." Kakashi glared.

"W-well?! What is it?!" Naruto snapped.

"Didn't you wonder why you were split into groups?"

"W-well-"

"Teamwork!" the copy-nin snapped.

For once in his life, Lloyd was the only one who wasn't feeling stupid.

"You had to act as a team!" Kakashi continued. "Sakura, you ignored Naruto and Lloyd and followed after Sasuke, Sasuke

instantly assumed the rest of you would just get in the way and went off on his on, Naruto attempted do by himself what

the four of you should have done. Lloyd assisted Naruto against me and they actually did fairly well, but the point is you

didn't GET the point!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"So as I see it, the rest of you will never have a chance at being ninja."

It was then that the dark-haired Uchiha decided he had enough, attempting to attack Kakashi. Needless to say, he was

face down in the dirt with a knife at his neck less than five seconds later.

"Teamwork is essential to a unit," Kakashi continued, ignoring Sasuke's attempts to free himself, "for example..."

He put the knife closer to Sasuke's throat.

"Sakura, kill Naruto or Sasuke dies,"

"WHAT-!?"

"That," Kakashi released Sasuke, "is what could happen during a mission if you are not working as one."

"That was NOT funny Kakashi!" Lloyd snapped.

"Regardless...it doesn't matter, there's still 'that' thing..."

"What? What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi then had a gleam in his eye they did not like in the least.

"Since we have a four man squad, I had a double duty here," Kakashi stated, "either you three become a squad," Kakashi

pointed at Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, "or Lloyd becomes a chunin and the rest of you go back to the academy."

"WHAT?!"

"A chunin!? How the hell can HE be qualified to be a-!?" Sasuke pointed at Lloyd.

"Orders from Hokage-sama himself," Kakashi said, "Lloydie-boy's a lot stronger than you know."

"Hold on a second!" Lloyd snapped. "So if I pass, they fail!?"

"That's unfair!" Sakura shouted.

"That is life," Kakashi said, "either way, if none of you get the bells, ALL of you will fail. So here's what's going to happen...

All of you may have lunch, then I'll give you one more hour to try to get the bells. You have to get all the bells, it doesn't

matter who gets them. Then I will decide who passes. Now eat lunch, though Naruto goes hungry because he broke the

rules, my word is law."

With that he disappeared.

"...This is ridiculous!" Sasuke hissed.

"Ooh maaan..." Sakura whined.

Lloyd and Naruto were silent.

"...What is he up to?" Lloyd frowned.

"...Um...nii-san..."

Lloyd looked to the blond.

"...I um..."

"Here," Lloyd handed Naruto his food.

"W-what?! Nii-san-!!"

"What are you-!?" Sakura stared.

"He's not going to be able to help any if he's hungry," Lloyd said, then smiled, "besides...even if only you guys or me pass,

we still have to get the bells, or we all fail, right? So we're still a team right now."

"...He's right," Sasuke admitted.

"But-!"

"Kakashi's probably long gone by now," Sasuke stated, "...we should have Naruto eat while he's not here."

"W-well...okay then," she nodded.

"Nii-san's right, we are a team!" Naruto smiled. "...But I don't want to take his food..."

"Oh fine, if you're picky...you can take mine," Sakura huffed.

"Wha-?! I can't take yours either Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried.

"Oh shut up and somebody feed him before Kakashi gets back," Sasuke hissed.

"Naruto," Lloyd said.

"Huh-? MMPH!"

Lloyd shoved some rice into the blond's mouth.

"Eat up!" he grinned.

"Mmmph-!"

"YOU-!!"

They all stopped dead when Kakashi appeared in a rage, the four of them almost having heart-attacks-

"Pass!" he smiled.

Needless to say, there was a 'wha-?' silence.

"Wait...who passes?"

"You all do!" he smiled.

"...Eh?"

"You all stayed together even though I told you it was the three of you or him," Kakashi said, "and what's more, you took

care of your comrade when he needed help. All the others students did exactly what I said, like mindless little drones. You

see...those who break the rules are trash..."

Then his smile widened, his students staring at him in awe.

"But those who forsake their comrades are even lower than that!"

"...W...wait..." Sakura trailed.

"WAIT! So that stuff about nii-san and-?!" Naruto cried.

"Oh yeah, I made that part up to see if you'd turn on him," Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck.

"Why you two-faced one-eyed bastard-!!" Lloyd pointed.

"Thank you Lloydie-boy, I'm touched," Kakashi laughed, "truth is, though, a four man cell is an oddity..."

All attention was on Lloyd again.

"That part about you passing to be a chunin IS an option," Kakashi smirked.

"What? But-"

"Hokage-sama knows about you Lloyd, you know that, and Kratos-san and Genis-chan's stories about you...the Hokage

thinks you're more than qualified to be a chunin, seeing as...well, you know."

"...Can't I just stay a genin with them?" Lloyd asked.

"Heh, thought you'd say that, yes, that's an option,"

Lloyd grinned, "well duh, I'm staying with these guys!"

"N-nii-san?! Really!?" Naruto grinned.

"Heh, figures the idiot wouldn't want to move up," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"It's a great opportunity, Lloyd!" Sakura said.

"Yeah, but you guys will be a wreck without me," Lloyd grinned.

"Hey!"

"Nii-san!"

"Tch,"

"Then it's settled," Kakashi eye-smiled, "we're officially team seven!"

"...YES! YES! WOO HOO! I'M A NINJA! I'M A NINJA!" Naruto cried.

"Well, see you all tomorrow, good job," Kakashi said and walked off.

Sasuke and Sakura followed...

"H-hey!? Isn't anybody going to untie me?!" Naruto cried.

"Hm..." Lloyd trailed, grinning.

"Nii-san-! ...Why are you looking at me like that?" the blond frowned.

"...See ya later, Naruto!" Lloyd smiled, walking off.

"W-what?! NII-SAN! THIS ISN'T FUNNY! Come on, a little help?!"

"If you get yourself out I'll buy you ramen!" Lloyd called back.

"REALLY!? Oh sweet-! Hey! Wait! I can't-!"

"Bye!"

"DARN YOU NII-SAN!!"

Lloyd laughed as he caught up to walk beside Kakashi.

"You know, that was really mean of you," the brunette said.

"Well yes, but I was trying to test the lot of them," Kakashi said, "I knew how YOU would react, but..."

"You're a jerk," Lloyd said, putting his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, I know,"

"...Were you really serious about the whole chunin thing though?"

"Yep," Kakashi shrugged, "apparently Hokage-sama thinks it's impressive that you could hold off against Madara Uchiha,

you're an 'angel' from a world you apparently saved..."

"I- I didn't-"

"Well, you lead the group that did, am I right?"

"How did you find out about all that anyway?"

"Hokage-sama asked Kratos-san a lot about it the other night," he said, "honestly, I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen you

two fight off Madara myself...that kinda helped."

"Yeah..." Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck.

"So, aren't you going to help Naruto?"

"I promised him ramen if he got out himself,"

"Really? Well, it should only take him a couple minutes then," he shrugged, opening his book.

"...Is that a new one, or are you rereading it for the fiftieth time?"

"Just because I CAN read..."

"Oh shut up Kakashi,"

"OY! NII-SAN! I DID IT! SEE?!"

Naruto was running toward them.

"Wow, that was fast," Lloyd grinned, "okay then...race you!"

Lloyd was off like a shot.

"What the-!? Nii-san! Dammit!" Naruto griped, chasing after him again.

"..." Kakashi shook his head and went back to his por- book, back to his book, right.

* * *

Lloyd returned home with an empty wallet, sighing. He was happy to treat Naruto to something, but damn that kid could

eat... He himself only got to have two bowls this time! Oh well...he kinda felt bad for Naruto after Genis had showed up...

He didn't want the blond demon-container to think he'd stop liking him. That was so stupid! What kind of person would

stop caring about their friend just because one of their old ones popped up or something?!

"I'm home," Lloyd said, opening the door.

"Hi Lloyd!" Genis grinned.

"Hey-! ...Um...Genis...what're you doing?"

The half-elf was currently taking apart the microwave.

"Huh? Well...I was bored and I wanted to see how it worked..."

Silence.

"Genis, you're turning into the Professor," Lloyd said.

"...Oh mana," the boy whispered, staring at what he had done in horror.

"Er...right...can you put it back?"

"Sure! It's not that hard...so how'd your test go?" he asked.

"We passed," Lloyd smiled.

"Great!" Genis grinned. "...Wow, that's like, the first one you've ever passed, huh?"

"Shut up!"

"Heheheheh...y'know, I was reading up on this 'jutsu' stuff..." he said.

"What?" Lloyd blinked.

"Kratos had some scrolls on them," he said while he connected some parts, "they're kinda like spells, huh? Except you've

gotta do stuff with your hands instead of an incantation..."

"Er...I...guess?" Lloyd blinked.

"Can you do any?" the boy asked expectantly.

"Um...I can do this."

Lloyd made a regular illusionary clone.

"Woah-! That's so cool!" Genis gaped.

"Not really, Naruto can make solid ones..."

"Solid?" Genis gaped. "Wow...that's...hey, can you do the 'substitution' one?"

"Sure, though I like this one more...transform!"

Lloyd turned himself into Genis.

"Heh heh," he grinned.

The half-elf almost passed out.

"Isn't that awesome?! This ninja stuff is really fun," Lloyd grinned, turning back into himself.

"How do you DO that...?" Genis stared.

"Well, it took A LOT of practice, you gotta make this handsign..."

"Like this?" the half-elf mimicked him.

"Yeah, and then you gotta gather your mana- though they call it 'chakra' here, and you've gotta focus it into your fingers

and think about what you want to transform into," Lloyd said, "it's really hard-"

POOF!

Lloyd fell over, seeing as Genis had turned into him this time.

"Wow, that was easy!" the younger boy grinned.

"H-how did you do that-!?" Lloyd cried.

Genis shrugged, turning back into himself with a 'poof'.

"It's really not that difficult, Lloyd, I'm used to concentrating mana," he said.

"..." Lloyd twitched.

"...What?"

"...You suck, Genis," Lloyd muttered.

"You're just jealous," he smiled cheekily, "well...it doesn't matter. You know what? To celebrate the first and probably last

time you'll ever pass a test-"

Lloyd glared.

"I'll cook up something great for dinner!" he grinned.

"Oh great!" Lloyd grinned too. "It's been ages since I've had your cooking..."

"...It has-? Oh...oh yeah, nevermind."

Silence fell again.

"Wait, first...you want me to show you around Konoha?"

Genis opened his mouth.

"I think that's a great idea!"

The two of them fell over as Naruto appeared from hiding again.

"W-woah-! Does he ALWAYS do this?!" Genis asked.

"Naruto! What're you doing here?!"

"Well what else?" the blond said. "We're gonna give Genis a tour!"

"Well-" Lloyd started.

"Hey," Naruto turned Genis, "Um...sorry about before, calling you shrimp and stuff..."

"...Eh, that's okay," he shrugged, "I get that a lot."

"So um...let's start over. Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" he held out his hand. "Nice to meetcha!"

"...I'm Genis Sage," he smiled, shaking his hand, "it's nice to meet you too."

"Heh heh, great! Now that that's done with..." the blond grinned, "okay! We'll give you a tour of the village!"

"...Sure," Genis smiled, "I'd appreciate it.

"Hah, y'know, you're not that bad," Naruto said.

"You're not either, weird and loud, but not bad,"

"Well gee, thanks..." the blond said flatly.

Lloyd smiled. It made him really happy to see his best friend and his 'nii-san' getting along so well... He really hoped the

two of them would be able to become friends...though... If Genis didn't get home soon...and say they could get him home,

would that mean him and his father would leave too? He looked at the smiling blond who was now telling Genis about his

dream to be Hokage, a frown on his face. He wanted to go home, sure...but he didn't want Naruto to be lonely again... He

groaned. Then there was the other thing...say they got back...would Kratos...would his father still want to leave him?

**Hm...that'll do, I think. I was kinda iffy on the end, but...er, what do you think?**

**Sarutobi: I'm surprised, there was not much Kratos-kun in this chapter.**

**Me: And it wounded me greatly. Though I think I managed to pull of the test pretty well...and I've decided about Genis. **

**I'll have him stick around for a little, but he'll be going home soon nonetheless. I dunno...the feel of it just isn't right if **

**he's here permanently...**

**Sarutobi: Well, whatever you wish.**

**Me: Review please?**


	9. The First Serious Mission

**I'm so sorry for the wait. I had such trouble deciding where to go from there (I rewrote it three times) and then **

**when I did get almost all of it done my computer f'ed on me and I lost ALL of it...(Meaning I rewrote it two more **

**times) --' I'm so sorry...**

**Sarutobi: Excuses, young one.**

**Me: Oh shut up!**

**Sarutobi: Freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**The First Serious Mission**

"UGH!"

Lloyd plopped onto the sofa with a groan as his friend popped up next to him.

"Hey, Lloyd! How'd your mission-? ...That bad, huh?" Genis frowned.

It had been a few days since Genis arrived, and seeing as they still hadn't an idea how to get him back or if the machine

was even reusable, the young mage continued to abide in the home of the Aurions. Of course, Genis had been

introduced to the Hokage who had in fact taken very kindly to the boy; being the suck up that Genis was, and eventually

was allowed temporary stay in the village. The ninja specialists, however, were baffled by the technology which Genis

had brought with him. Though Kratos had attempted to explain its functioning to the top-secret personnel, it still

remained an enigma to them. While Kratos and Genis got to mess around with that, what did Lloyd get to do? D-Rank

missions. Nothing but FREAKING D-Rank missions! He had just come back from cleaning GUTTERS for mana's sake! Dad

was going to flip when he saw the stuff from between his fingers had smeared onto the couch...

"I HATE Kakashi! I hate him!" he groaned.

"Well, he doesn't choose your missions, does he?" Genis asked.

"No, but he doesn't do anything to help us on these 'missions'! They're odd-jobs!"

"Oh..." he frowned.

"...So," Lloyd sighed, "what did you do today?"

"I met that old teacher of yours, 'Iruka', right?"

That perked his attention.

"Really? Cool, what did he say?"

"Nothing much, he wouldn't stop talking about Naruto," Genis laughed, "apparently he wouldn't stop talking about ME,

so Iruka knew my name already. Naruto talks about you a lot too, according to Iruka."

"Heh..." Lloyd smiled, then groaned, "well, better rest up..it's only two, we're getting another mission in an hour since

Kakashi thinks that we didn't 'do enough'..."

"Harsh," Genis frowned, "I don't think Sis would even push that much work on you."

Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"I mean physical work,"

"Oh,"

Genis seemed to think a minute and then spoke up.

"I'll go with you to meet up with everybody," he said, "just to drop you off, I want to see a little more of this place."

"I don't mind that," Lloyd grinned, "Naruto'd brag about you."

"Brag?"

"He brags about his friends," he said, "it annoys Sasuke, but that's pretty much his purpose in life."

"Sasuke?"

"You'll know him when you see him, his hair looks like a chicken-butt,"

Genis snickered.

And so an hour later Lloyd arrived with Genis at the designated spot. Sakura was fretting about getting the gunk from

earlier out of her nails, Sasuke was brooding (as usual), and Naruto was jabbering on loudly about Kakashi being late

again.

"Hi guys!" Lloyd waved.

"OH! HI NII-SAN!" Naruto waved back ecstatically. "Hey! You brought Genis too!"

"Well hello to you too," Genis said flatly.

Sasuke and Sakura locked eyes on the half-elf.

"And who the hell is he?" Sasuke asked icily.

"What's with those clothes?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I thought Gai-sensei dressed strangely."

Lloyd grimaced at the thought of comparing Genis to Gai.

"Uh...I'm Genis, I'm a friend of Lloyd's," Genis said.

"The idiot has friends other than the loser?" Sasuke mused.

"STOP CALLING ME A LOSER!" Naruto roared.

"Feh, right, whatever," Sasuke shrugged, "none of my business."

"Sasuke! Th-that's rude!" Sakura stammered before turning to Genis with a forced smile. "Hi, I'm Sakura...please don't

mind Sasuke, he's not really that much of jerk!"

"It's okay, I've known worse," the mage chirped as he shook her hand.

Pink hair...nothing on Presea though, this girl's forehead was the size of a rheaird.

"Hee,"

He was so _cute_! Not hot like Sasuke, of course, but he was just so adorable! She wanted to hug him! Cha!

"Sakura's REEEAAAAALLLY smart!" Naruto said, attempting to flatter her.

"I know I am," she said, holding her head up high.

_Oh mana,_ Genis thought _it's worse than Raine..._

"Oh, really?" he said. "That's nice."

POOF!

"Sorry I'm late! A black cat crossed my path and-"

"SHUT UP, KAKASHI!" Lloyd, Naruto and Sakura snapped.

"Yeah well- oh, hello Genis-chan," Kakashi waved at Genis with an eye-smile.

"Uh...hey, I was just coming to see Lloyd off,"

"I see...well, come along, guys! We have a VERY important mission,"

"Important mission!?" Naruto's eyes lit up. "Really!? How important?!"

"Suuuuuper important, reeeaaaaalllly important," Kakashi trailed.

Genis wore an expression that said clearly he thought Kakashi was being cruel teasing a boy with an IQ so bad it even

rivaled Lloyd's. Heck, even Lloyd seemed to get he was lying.

"Like what?" Lloyd said, skeptical.

"Oh, you'll see..."

"...Have fun, Lloyd," Genis said as he walked off, "hope you don't come back smelling like garbage."

"Hey! It can't be anything like THAT, right?!" Naruto said.

And so it was several minutes later, squad seven launched on its target...

"GOTCHA!" Naruto cried.

The poor cat didn't have a chance.

"Subject captured," Sasuke said into his mike.

"Good job," Kakashi's voice came over the static, "remember, target has a red bow."

"Let me see, red bow- OW! OW! GET IT OFF ME-!!"

Lloyd blinked as Naruto grappled with the cat 'Tora', which was attempting to add even more whisker marks to the

blond's face by means of deep cuts. The Eternal Swordsman grimaced. Ouch, that looked like it hurt...maybe he should

help-

"I HATE THIS JOB! CAN'T WE DO SOMETHING BETTER?!" Naruto roared into his mike.

Several yards away, Kakashi rubbed his ear.

"Ay..." he sighed.

With their 'mission' accomplished, they headed back to the assignment office for their next task. After having to decide

between the oh-so-exciting choices of cleaning, working birthday parties, babysitting and the horrors of grocery

shopping, Naruto had it.

"NO! NO MORE! I'VE HAD IT WITH THESE CRAPPY JOBS!" Naruto shouted. "HOW is any of this stuff ever supposed to

make me a good ninja?! I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!"

"NARUTO!" Iruka snapped from the desk. "You're only genin, everything else is to hard for you!"

"B-but Iruka-sensei..." Sakura started.

"The idiot does have a point," Sasuke admitted grudgingly.

"The best teacher is experience, after all," Lloyd said.

Everybody gawked at him.

"...And how the hell did you think that up?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"My Dad said it," he grinned, rubbing the back of his neck.

"..." everyone 'said'.

"...What?"

"Okay...either way, you are not ready to-" Iruka started.

"I'm not a little kid anymore!!" Naruto pouted.

A smirk slowly spread on the Hokage's face at this remark.

"...All right then, Iruka," he said.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Give them a 'C' rank, if they're so persistent on this,"

"Whaaaaa!? Really!? REALLY!?" Naruto leapt to his feet, ecstatic as usual.

"Yes, an escort mission, you will escort the client back to his home in the land of waves,"

"OH! An escort?! Who are we escorting, someone important?!" Naruto cried.

There was a loud blech and the door opened, and old man wearing a straw hat entering.

"This is Tazuna, the bridge builder," Iruka said.

"You wan' THESE brats to guard me?" Tazuna drawled, red in the face from liquor. "They don't look like they could guard

anything! Especially the midget with the stupid look on his facce!"

Naruto laughed.

"What midget? What stupid look-?"

"You're the shortest one here, Naruto..." Lloyd pointed out.

Silence.

"I'LL KILL HIM!"

Kakashi held him back.

"Wrong, no killing the old man you've been assigned to protect,"

Lloyd had the distinct feeling that this was going to be more than they bargained for.

* * *

"Reporting for duty, sensei!"

Lloyd looked at his friend, stunned. Sure, after being attacked by the 'demon brothers' of the hidden mist (and Tazuna

being put in hot water) Naruto had taken a hit of poison in his hand. When Kakashi posed that they should go back to

the village because they were out of their league, Lloyd and Naruto both protested until Kakashi pointed out Naruto

needed treatment, or else he could cut the wound enough to drain the poison. Not that Kakashi thought he would

seriously do it...and there they were, with Naruto's hand bleeding like crazy after he had cut it open with a kunai knife

and proclaimed he would never be too scared or useless ever again.

"...Hey, you know, that was really cool with the speech and the knife and all," Kakashi eye-smiled. "But it you lose any

more blood than that, you're going to die, I'm serious."

Silence.

"AGH! I DON'T WANNA DIE! AH-!!" Naruto cried.

"Hold still, dummy!" Lloyd said, trying to halt his friend. "It'll make it worse!"

"But-!"

Kakashi glared.

"Naruto, stop,"

Naruto stopped moving.

"...Let me see it,"

Kakashi knelt down to examine Naruto's hand, Lloyd looking at it over his shoulder. Now Lloyd wasn't any sort of healer

or doctor, but he had seen enough combat to know a thing or two about wounds. Naruto was almost healed already.

Lloyd frowned, he knew Naruto always healed fast but it seemed even faster than usual...

"...Kakashi," he whispered, "...is it something...important?"

Kakashi frowned.

"W-what...? Is it okay? Why do you guys keep looking at me like that?"

They both looked up at the blond.

"You'll be fine," Kakashi said, setting the bandage.

"Huh?"

With that, Kakashi turned his attention back to Tazuna. Naruto looked to his 'nii-san' as a result.

"Nii-san? What was wrong with it?" he asked.

"Huh? Uh..." Lloyd fidgeted. "Nothing-"

Suddenly, something went wrong.

The world stopped. Everything, stopped. Tazuna was in the middle of turning his head, Sakura had stopped breathing,

the clouds had stopped moving, the wind had stopped.

"W-what the-!?" Naruto cried.

"What the he-?" Lloyd started.

Then the sky turned a shade of red the color of blood.

"Oh NO not this again...!!" Lloyd cried.

"Not what? What's going on?!" Naruto freaked.

"Naruto! Calm down!"

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi was moving as well, revealing his sharingan from the mask.

"What is this!?"

Well wouldn't you know it, Sasuke was moving around too. Granted, he looked just as freaked as Naruto (aside from not

spazzing as much) and held a defensive stance, looking around in panic. Actually, he seemed shocked for a minute

before he began to shake violently, the color fading from his face and the strength in his knees leaving him.

"This...this is..." he choked, cold sweat forming on his skin.

"Sasuke, get a hold of yourself!" Kakashi snapped. "All of you, get behind me, now!"

The three boys leapt behind Kakashi with their back to each other in a defensive stance.

"Sensei, what's going on!?" Naruto cried.

"This is sharingan, isn't it?!" Sasuke snapped, his voice cracking. "Isn't it?!"

"Sasuke, I SAID calm down!"

"But-!" Naruto started.

"ALL OF YOU BE QUIET, NOW!"

All three of them went silent.

"...Yes, this is sharingan," Kakashi said, "what type, I'm not quite certain. Lloyd."

"Yeah, Kakashi?" Lloyd asked, a sword and a kunai out.

"...You remember what this is, don't you?"

"...Yeah," Lloyd said, "...I remember. This is the same thing that happened when Naruto was kidnapped."

"When my brother..." Sasuke muttered under his breath.

_**Hello again, you three. ...Oh...and we have Itachi's little brother too, do we? Heh.**_

Sasuke flinched violently.

"Itachi? Who-? Wait, isn't that-?" Naruto started.

"WHO ARE YOU!? SHOW YOURSELF!!" Sasuke roared.

"SASUKE!" Kakashi snapped.

_**Don't worry, Sasuke. I won't hurt you, I need to tell you something about your brother anyway...**_

"MADARA! What do you want?!" Lloyd shouted.

"Who?" Naruto blurted.

"Hello,"

The four males flinched and leapt away from each other, seeing as Madara Uchiha had decided to make his appearance

right in the middle of their 'defense' ring. Naruto went wide eyed in recognition.

"You...you're the guy who..."

Naruto began to shake, his eyes going wide.

"Impossible...!" Sasuke gaped.

Lloyd threw several kunai at Madara, who smirked.

"You're kidding, right?"

"HUNTING BEAST!" Lloyd shouted, rushing at him with the one sword gripped tightly in both hands.

"Too slow," Madara smirked as he leapt out of the way.

"RAIKIRI!"

Kakashi came at him this time from the opposite side as Lloyd...and then the two hit the ground shortly after. Naruto

gaped like an idiot as Sasuke went into somewhat of a catatonic state.

"NII-SAN! KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto cried, running forward.

Madara appeared directly before the young genin and grabbed his wrist, smirking down at the blond. Naruto yelped and

attempted to get away but the Uchiha held his hand tightly around his wrist and then his hand, crushing the wound.

"GAH-!!"

"Dammit!" Lloyd got back on his feet. "Leave him alone!"

"Tell me, Lloyd, do you recognize this?"

Lloyd stopped dead in his tracks. Madara held up a small, blue stone that was on a mount of some kind, the gem

seeming to glow in the otherwise red world. The Eternal Swordsman choked.

"Th-that's my-! How did you get that?!"

"How did I get it? Your exsphere?" Madara smiled. "Life is full of little mysteries, isn't it?"

"Exsphere-!? What the HELL is an exsphere?!" Naruto cried.

"Now, tell me, Lloyd," Madara continued, ignoring Naruto, "exspheres without this 'key crest' are...interesting, aren't

they? So say, if I..."

Madara performed the following action so fast it wasn't visible. He had released Naruto, removed the key crest from the

exsphere so that it fell to the floor, then grabbed Naruto again.

"This exsphere by itself, yes?" he said. "If I were to..."

Madara ripped the bandages off of Naruto's wound, grabbing him again before he could move.

"S-stop that-!!" Naruto cried.

"Say I place this stone on his hand here...what do you think would happen?"

Lloyd went wide-eyed.

"No-! NARUTO-!"

Madara went to put the stone on the blond's hand...

"DEMON FANG!"

The moment's hesitation on Madara's part was just enough the let Lloyd get close to him.

"Hm, threatening," Madara teased, "but I'm afraid that's not going to stop me."

He charged at Lloyd and Naruto, his sharingan whirling.

"GUARDIAN!"

Despite the barrier, the sharingan still loomed at them through the darkness...

The next second was a blur to both Naruto and Sasuke; Kakashi, who was watching from the ground, managed to pick

up Lloyd and Madara launching at each other as the first of the two suddenly sprouted up to the size of a grown man.

"NII-SAN!?"

"LLOYD!?"

"About time..." Kakashi muttered, "didn't take him as long before..."

Madara's eyes widened before he simply...disappeared. Just vanished, the world returning to normal around them.

Tazuna and Sakura had passed out on the ground and Sasuke was on his knees at this point, beyond simple shock at

what had happened. Lloyd looked around frantically. He...he just left? That was it? No...something was wrong here...

"Nii-san?"

He looked back at Naruto, who was staring at him. Lloyd flinched and noticed his appearance, then looked over at the

twelve year old blond that was looking at him as if unsure who he was looking at. That expression hadn't changed, from

five years ago... Lloyd sheathed his sword.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" he asked.

"Y-yeah..." the blond nodded slowly, "...you uh...did it again."

"Uh...yeah," Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck, "uhm..."

"I'm FINE, thank you all for your concern," Kakashi moped from the ground.

"Oh! Kakashi!" Lloyd dashed over. "Sorry about that, let me help you up..."

"Nah...I'm fine, I'll be fine," the copy-nin said as he got to his feet, "check on the others-...Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked nothing short of traumatized, on his knees, shaking, pale, sweaty, eyes wide in horror and gaping out

into nothingness. Lloyd frowned. What? Sasuke couldn't have been THAT shocked over just his uh...change, right? So

what was it? Madara? Or...

"...Sasuke? Hey! Sasuke, are you okay!?" Naruto asked.

"Wait, Kakashi, didn't he mention Itachi...?" Lloyd asked quietly to Kakashi.

"...I'll talk to him,"

Kakashi walked forward and gently shooed Naruto aside, leaning down to put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Not

knowing what else to do, Naruto raced over to Lloyd's side to observe the bizarre scene of Sasuke in such a state and a

teacher trying to act like his parent.

"...Nii-san?"

Lloyd looked down at him.

"...That was the guy from before, wan't it?" Naruto frowned. "T-they guy who-"

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded, "that was him."

"...I suck,"

"Huh?"

"I- I couldn't do anything against him!" Naruto snapped. "I...you had to save me again, and Kakashi-sensei got hurt and

Sasuke's all weird...I-"

"Look, if you're even considering blaming yourself for being weak I'll kick your ass right here,"

Naruto said nothing and simply stared up at him.

"...Woah, you look so much like Kratos-san it scares me,"

"H-hey-"

"Nii-san? Is Sasuke going to be okay? What about Sakura and the old guy? And what's an 'exsphere'?"

Lloyd fell silent. The exsphere...HIS exsphere. Where had Madara GOTTEN that? And why did he try to attach it to

NARUTO? It didn't- Wait! He left the key crest here!

"Hang on a second, Naruto, be right back,"

Lloyd walked over to the key crest and picked it up, frowning. Yep, it was definitely his keycrest... He had wondered

where it had gone. After all, when they arrived here he didn't have it and he tried to contact Origin about it, but his link

with the spirit was so weak it was of no help. ...But how had Madara gotten it? WHY did the Uchiha bastard want

it? ...And what was that about Itachi? Why did the kook even show up anyway-?

"AHHh-!"

Lloyd and Kakashi instantly whirled their heads around in Narutos' direction.

"Na-!"

The boy was once again in Madara's grip, the exsphere poised above his skin.

"You lose!" Madara said.

The exsphere made contact with Naruto's skin, digging into his flesh as if it had roots.

"NARUTO-!"

Naruto's head fell limp, his open eyes glazing over into emotionless pools of blue.

**...Yes it was short, and yes, I am so evil. Oh I am so evil. I am so proud. n.n I was having such difficulty with this **

**story because I was going to keep it so it followed the series, mostly, right? Then I stopped and thought about it and **

**I realized.. That would be ABSOLUTELY no fun. So...I mutilated the storyline. X3 **

**Sarutobi: ...Does that mean I'll get to live?**

**Me: Since I like Tsunade? No, probably not.**

**Sarutobi: Mmph...**

**Me; Review please? I'll have it up MUCH faster this time, I promise! **

**Oh, and please don't get on my case with exsphere technicalities, I know what I'm doing...n.n' Sorry.**


	10. The Exsphere

**

* * *

**

Fugu!

**Sarutobi:...What?**

**Me: Um...nothing.**

**Sarutobi: ...Right, freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**Me: I'm sorry it took so long...-_-' I've pretty much stopped watching Naruto altogether as of late, because fillers are the spawn of evil **

**incarnate. I hate to say it, but I miss Sasuke. It just wasn't...right anymore, after he left...(sigh) I even miss this part, when he was only a **

**partial-douche instead of a full-out one...I digress. Sorry for the wait and I hope the first few pages make up for it...X3**

**Enjoy! n.n'**

**The Exsphere**

When Naruto opened his eyes he found himself in a dark hall of some sort, the sound of dripping water echoing throughout the labyrinth as a

stream of water flowed down half the hall. The blond gaped. Where was he? How did he get there? He remembered that Madara guy put the

exsphere on his hand and then...

"_**GGGGGGAAARRRRRRRRHHHHH!!!"**_

The sound echoed so loudly that Naruto covered his ears just to attempt not to go deaf, the entire structure seemed to shake from the voice.

"W-what was that?"

Now, most people would've avoided the sound...Naruto of course, doesn't fall under that category. He ran toward the source of the roar,

finding himself running through ankle deep water. There was another roar. He turned the corner and halted in his tracks. Before him was a

large cage with a piece of paper noted 'seal' on it, behind its bars was a large, red fox-like creature....which was snarling at something that

stood before his cage.

"_**FUCK OFF!" **_it shouted.

"K-kyuubi...." Naruto paled.

"Oh don't be rude, I just need to borrow a LITTLE bit-"

"_**BEAT IT, queer! I'm not giving you ANY of my chakra!"**_

The fourteen year old (albeit feminine) blond boy crossed his arms, snorting.

"Look, I can make this work in both our favors if you just cooperate,"

"_**Look, fop! If ANYONE is taking it, it's me! You haven't done the time, you don't get the benefits!"**_

"But-!" the boy snapped, then stopped. "..."

Naruto fidgeted uncomfortably as Kyuubi looked up and noted his presence.

_**"Well hello, kit," **_it growled.

The genin found himself unable to move as the boy turned and locked eyes with him, blue meeting blue. Naruto screamed at himself to move,

but found he couldn't even budge his feet. The other blond smirked and then in a burst of light was right in front of Naruto, looking down at the

shorter blond.

"You must be Naruto, right?" he smirked.

"...H- W- Who the HELL are you?!" Naruto blurted.

"You can call me Mithos," the boy's smirk extended into a grin.

Naruto didn't like that grin.

* * *

"NARUTO!"

Lloyd lunged at Madara as the Uchiha released Naruto and the unresponsive blond hit the ground, his blank blue eyes looking out into

nothingness. Madara smirked and in a quick motion managed to cause Lloyd to stagger. The stagger was just enough for the old ninja to

snatch the key crest...

"DAMMIT-!"

* * *

"Mithos...?" Naruto said slowly.

"Yeah, Mithos," he smiled 'pleasantly', "I was just chatting with your...boarder, here."

"_**Go to hell!"**_

"Yeah yeah," Mithos rolled his eyes, "look, Naruto...can I ask you something?"

"W-what...?"

Mithos' expression became stern.

"...You know what it's like, don't you?"

"What? Know what what's-?"

"To be alone, to be despised, to be hated just for existing," Mithos hissed.

Naruto flinched and then frowned, becoming lost in his thoughts. ...Well...yeah, he knew. He knew what it was like to be alone...to have people

scoff at you, glare at you, attack you even for no reason whatsoever. He knew what it was like to go home to nothing, to silence, to stand on

the sidelines because no one would let you play...but how did....?

"H-how do you know that?"

Mithos smiled grimly.

"I know what that's like too, I know what it's like to be shunned,"

Naruto said nothing.

"Here...let me show you,"

Mithos put his palm to Naruto's head and in a blur he saw fragments of...something. A blond boy crying as garbage was tossed at his face,

standing out in the rain because the inn wouldn't allow 'his kind' inside, insulted and abused simply for being alive. ...Memories? Naruto fell into

silence as he watched the scenes fly by in his head, feeling more and more sympathy for the one called 'Mithos' by the second. Sympathy,

and...a kinship, almost. Happiness. Some part of him was happy someone else had gone through the same thing, some part of him was

overjoyed there was someone who understood his loneliness...

"See?" Mithos said, pulling back his hand.

"...You're..." Naruto backed up a step, "...you're just like me."

Mithos smirked darkly.

"Yes, I am just like you," Mithos said, "..and your friends need help right now, don't they?"

"Huh-? Oh no! Nii-san! And Kakashi-sensei and-!"

"Want me to help you?" Mithos asked.

"Huh?"

"You understand how I feel...you understand it," the half-elf said sternly, "...so let me help you. Let me be your friend, and I'll help you."

"_**I wouldn't listen to him, kit," **_Kyuubi growled.

"Oh shut up, don't listen to that furball," Mithos glared, "it's because of him everyone hates you, right? That stupid old fox can give you chakra,

sure, but he can't give you much right now, can he? The seal is too strong. So..."

Mithos stuck his hand out to the younger blond.

"What do you say?"

"...I...w-wait!" Naruto shook his head. "Who are you anyway?! What are you doing- wherever this is?!"

"Your mind?" Mithos asked, looking around. "Not quite sure, but it's best not to question fate when she plays in your favor, am I right?"

_**"I'm telling you, kit, you're better off with me!"**_

Naruto looked hesitantly between the large fox and the girly boy in front of him. He knew he wasn't lying about...about feeling the same, about

going through the same things he did; but something was off...something was extremely wrong, even without considering he was in his own

mind. Mithos snorted again.

"Come on, Naruto, you're going to trust a big demon like him? A DEMON? They do nothing but lie!"

Naruto backed up from the blond.

"W-wait...I...look, I just want to get out of here-"

"And you can, with my help," Mithos glared, "now come on, the fight's still going on."

The genin hesitated.

"I thought you said you weren't going to be useless anymore?"

He flinched and Mithos' smirk widened.

* * *

"SUMMONING JUTSU!"

Several nin-dogs appeared as a result of Kakashi's jutsu, launching out at Madara as Lloyd charged at the elderly Uchiha. Naruto was limp on

the floor, his eyes seemingly pupil-less almost like that of the Hyuuga, but bearing a more...dead, expression. The blond was breathing, but the

state he was in was still enough to drive anyone's concerns wild.

"Grr..."

Strapping several paper bombs to his sword he charged and performed 'Psi Tempest', the bombs exploding right after Lloyd cut through

Madara with such precise timing he just barely missed the blast. The smoke cleared and a butchered log lay in the spot Lloyd had attacked.

"Almost," Madara grinned.

Kakashi's dogs leaped and bit at the Uchiha, both of the leaf-ninja continuing their barrage.

* * *

"Well? What's it going to be?" Mithos asked again, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"...I..."

"All right, fine," Mithos huffed, turning from him, "I thought you understood pain like I did, but obviously you don't if you wouldn't trust me. I just

wanted to be your friend, but-"

"W-wait-!" Naruto stammered.

A friend...? Not just a friend, a friend who understood! Lloyd was his nii-san, of course, but a friend...a friend really his age, a friend who knew

what it was like! ...A friend...

"...Yes?" Mithos turned to look at him.

Naruto hesitated just a minute.

"...One last time," Mithos stuck his hand out again, "will you?"

The genin bit his lip a second more before he reached out and took his hand.

"Okay,"

"Excellent," Mithos smirked.

* * *

The fighting in the real world continued without much interruption, the combatants all but ignoring the unconscious blond boy. Well, all that

changed very suddenly when the boy's body began to give off a white glow, faint images of feathers dancing around him. Lloyd, being an

angel, sensed the change and instantly turned to gawk at his 'otouto' as the blond got to his feet, his eyes still glazed, and then directed his

palm at Madara.

"JUDGMENT!" Naruto shouted.

The Uchiha rapidly dodged every beam except one, which severely grazed the side of his arm. He growled and then sent a glare at Lloyd and

Kakashi before appearing at Sasuke's side, pulling the younger Uchiha up by the wrist and making a seal with one hand, slamming his palm

onto Sasuke's forehead after sliding up the headband. A brief seal appeared on Sasuke before Madara dropped him and the genin hit the floor.

"What did you-?!" Kakashi glared.

"ANGEL FEATHERS!"

Madara leapt out of the way of shuriken-like apparitions made from feathers, scoffing.

"See you later," Madara hissed, disappearing from their sight.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi shouted.

"NARUTO!" Lloyd cried.

As the copy-ninja rushed to the dark-haired pupil, Lloyd gawked at the usually hyperactive knuckle-head who stood before him, still as a

statue, with misted eyes. He stared at him blankly for a minute before a brief flash indicated Lloyd had reverted to his child form. The

swordsman gave brief grunt of irritation before he decided to direct his attentions to more important things.

"...Naruto?" Lloyd walked forward slowly. "Naruto, are you-?"

The blond let out a yelp and then fell forward, Lloyd catching him before he hit.

"Naruto-!"

"N-nii-san...?" he whispered.

"Naruto, are you okay?" he asked.

"I..."

The blond let out a shout of pain, clinging tightly to Lloyd. The Aurion male went wide-eyed at the surge of angelic mana he was feeling, but

managed to calm down enough to try to comfort Naruto when it died down suddenly. Angel mana...angel spells... Well, his exsphere was

technically some form of Cruxis Crystal, but he didn't think it would have that effect unless- Wait, Colette didn't have a key-crest at first, so-..

Oh no.

"Naruto! Hey! Naruto!"

The blond mumbled before he tilted his head up, the blue irises once again sharp and in focus.

"...Nii-san? Are you okay? What happened?" the boy asked.

"...Naruto, how did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"...You just cast 'judgment'," Lloyd said flatly.

"...Uh-"

"It's a really hard move only certain people can use,"

"...Uh-"

"People with certain things that grow out of their backs,"

"...OH! You mean like you and Kratos-san, right-?!"

The look on Lloyd's face instantly caused Naruto to freeze.

"..Wait a minute-!!!"

"Naruto, let me see your hand," Lloyd glared.

"My-?"

Lloyd took his wrist, glaring down at the exsphere.

"H-how did that-?" Naruto stammered. "What IS that?"

"..."

Lloyd's mind was racing. What could he do? Without the key-crest there was no way of removing it without hurting him...without... He

shuddered at the thought. But if they DIDN'T remove it.... Okay, they had to get a key-crest. But where? There wasn't a dwarf on this planet,

was there even inhibitor ore? So they had to get the old key-crest back. ...How? Madara left...he didn't even know where the freak came from...

"C-can't I just take it out-?" Naruto started.

"NO!" Lloyd blurted. "I-! No, don't even touch it! Understand?!"

Naruto flinched.

"W-why-?"

Lloyd took a roll of bandages and wrapped it securely around the exsphere, frowning.

"No matter what happens, don't let anyone or anything touch that stone," Lloyd glared, "got that? Nothing, touches, the stone."

"...Nii-san, what's going on? What is it?" he asked.

Lloyd's face fell.

"It's..." he shook his head, "Naruto, do you feel any different?"

"What-? No, not really," he shook his head, "why-? I mean, besides everything else I mean."

"...Tell me the second anything happens to you, understand?"

"I'm fine too, if either of you noticed," a voice spat darkly.

Naruto glared death at Sasuke, who was on his feet and glaring nonchalantly at both of them with Kakashi beside him. Naruto and Sasuke

began their traditional glare-off while Lloyd spoke up to Kakashi.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

The copy-nin nodded.

"I'll be fine," Kakashi said, "...what about Naruto?"

"Huh?" the blond blinked.

"Your hand, dobe," Sasuke snorted, "and that weird jutsu you did..."

"W-what? You saw that?!" Naruto yelped, wide-eyed.

"Obviously,"

"I thought you were unconscious?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"Feh, I came around long enough to see that," he snorted.

"Y-yeah!? Well what about you!?" Naruto pointed at the Uchiha. "That freak put some kind of seal on your head!"

Lloyd instantly directed his attention to Sasuke, remembering the action. Sasuke's glare merely intensified when Kakashi chuckled a bit, rubbing

the back of his neck.

"All right, everyone settle down-"

"What was it?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah! What?!" Naruto added.

"I looked at it already," Kakashi said, "...it's nothing dangerous-"

"What it IS is none of your business!" Sasuke growled. "Loser!"

"Don't call me that! I was the one that scared him off while you were NAPPING!"

"And how did you do that?! What WAS that!?" the dark-haired snarled, his eye twitching.

"It's 'none of your business', now isn't it!?" the fox-boy retaliated before sticking out his tounge.

"Now, children," Kakashi said, "settle down, Sakura and Tazuna-san are waking up..."

"You stay out of this!" both boys yelled at him.

"Ay..." Kakashi sighed, rubbing the back of his neck again.

Deciding to let Kakashi 'calm them down' he went to check on Sakura and the old man. The pinkette sat up first, groaning as she rubbed the

back of her head.

"Are you all right?" Lloyd asked.

"Y-yeah...I'm- wait, what happened?" Sakura looked around.

"Uh..."

"Were we attacked? Is Tazuna-san okay? Where-?"

The girl caught sight of Kakashi hold Naruto back by the collar of his jacket, Sasuke glaring at his would-be rival as he too resisted the urge to

bitch-smack the boy who was attempting to strangle him.

"Oh, they're all right at least," she said with a sigh of relief, "what about Tazuna-san?"

"Oi..." said drunk mumbled, "my back....what'd I do last n-?"

He caught sight of Lloyd and Sakura and groaned.

"Oh yeah, I'm stuck with the runts..." he muttered.

Lloyd and Sakura glared.

"Jerk..." Lloyd muttered.

He noted Sakura much liked to say something...loud, but she instead shook it off.

"It doesn't matter if we're 'runts', we're ninjas," she said calmly.

"..."

Lloyd blinked and noted she was clutching the dirt. ...Huh...

_Drunk old geezer! I'll kick his ass! CHA! _Sakura thought.

"Tazuna-san,"

Lloyd looked up when Kakashi walked over, Sasuke and Naruto seen glaring at each other behind him.

"Are you all right?" Kakashi asked.

"Huh-! OH! SAKURA!" Naruto immediately dashed to her. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?!"

"I'm fine...what happened? Why'd we pass out-?"

Her green eyes quickly looked them over.

"Did you guys get in a fight?"

An awkward silence descended upon them.

"We'll explain, but first..." Kakashi drew his attention to Tazuna.

"...Er...what?"

"Nothing," Kakashi closed his eyes, "...just who exactly is after you?"

"W-what? No one's-"

"The two ninja we fought off earlier were mist village chunin," Kakashi stated, "people like that wouldn't be coming after you if someone else

was. If you have ninja after you, this should be considered a B ranked mission."

"B- B?!" Sakura cried. "But we're not qualified for that!"

"Yes, we really could just leave, this isn't what we signed up for..." Kakashi trailed.

"What? We can't do that!" Lloyd snapped. "...I, I mean I know this isn't exactly what we were going for, but we said we would protect him! And

we can't just let him go by himself if he's in danger!"

"This isn't our problem," Sasuke hissed, "...but..."

"L-look, I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything," Tazuna stammered, "B-but first...we are in danger here, aren't we?"

"True, true," Kakashi nodded, "then you can explain on the way."

The old man sighed, but then looked up at them.

"Then could you care to explain how you all ended up like that?"

"Yeah, what happened?" Sakura asked.

"...Excellent observation," Kakashi said, "...Lloydie-boy, explain."

"What?! How come I have to explain!?"

"Because I'm your SENSEI and I said so,"

"Listen here, 'sensei'," Lloyd growled, "I don't have to-"

"Enough!" Sasuke snapped. "I'll explain, there are you happy?!"

The group stared at him.

"..What?!" he snapped.

"Sasuke, are you all right?" Sakura frowned. "Y-you...you're really shaken up."

"What are you talking about, I'm f-"

"No you're not!" Naruto shouted. "Look at you! You never have that much emotion!"

"Can it, dobe!" Sasuke snapped.

"Both of you quiet down," Kakashi glared, "...I'll explain."

Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other before looking opposite ways, leaving Sakura to fret over her precious Sasuke and for Lloyd to

anxiously look at his otouto's hand. The exsphere... As Kakashi tried to explain what had happened without freaking them out, Lloyd wondered

what would become of his friend and how he could possibly alleviate him of his condition.

"Nii-san? What are you looking at?" Naruto asked.

"...Nothing,"

"Yeah right!" the boy went squinty-eyed. "You and Kratos-san always do that when you're worried!"

"Dammit," Lloyd muttered.

"AH-HAH! So you are! Tell-"

Kakashi swiftly smacked Naruto upside the head.

"I'm talking, be quiet,"

"Oooooowwwww! Kakashi-senseeeeeei! What was that foooooooooorrr?!"

Thus the explanations began....

* * *

"Huh," Mithos frowned, "that's peculiar..."

Sure, he had given Naruto some of his mana in order to drive off Madara, but...why did that freak attach the exsphere to Naruto anyway? He

really didn't mind, but something about it was obviously fishy. The guy had some reason for doing this, a reason he was sure he wouldn't

like...no matter. He was here, he had might as well take advantage of the situation...and it was just to his luck that stupid Lloyd would be

around him. Perfect, even if the idiot had an idea what was going on, he wouldn't be able to do anything so long as he was in the boy. ...Even

so...he did have to live with that fox... The blond jolted slightly, grimacing. What a hell...he had had Martel, at least, and then Yuan and Kratos

later...but Naruto had had Lloyd! He had had someone-!! ...Like he had had Martel...but it still hurt! It was still a hell-! ...Like it was for Naruto.

"...I should just stop thinking..." Mithos said with a sigh.

In the mean time...he would just have to sit back and wait.

**Sorry it's short...I figured it'd be good enough to put up, since it's taken me a while...-_-'**

**Sarutobi: Well...it's something.**

**Me: And I kinda don't really like Naruto anymore...nothing but fillers and the manga officially sucks. ...Well, it doesn't, but what they did **

**to all my favorite characters sucks. ...Though I won't give up on this fic, it'll just be a lot shorter than I originally intended. I hope that's **

**all right...n.n'**

**Sarutobi: Review if you wish.**

**Me: AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! :D**


	11. Hectic

**Well, Naruto has officially lost my interest. -_-' I'm sorry, but I don't even feel like writing this anymore... I will, if you want me to of **

**course, but I just don't FEEL like it anymore. Maybe if I watched some old Naruto episodes, or even the abridged series...**

**Sarutobi: You always finish what you start, do you not?**

**Me: Well...yeah... All right, I guess I will. (Sigh)**

**Sarutobi: Freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**Me: Maybe I'll just make it the bridge arc....**

**Hectic**

"Wow! It's really foggy-!"

"Quiet down, you idiot!"

Lloyd scanned the area with his brown eyes, straining his senses to detect any possible threats. Nothing came to his attention, however,

seeing as the thick fog Naruto had 'noted' had billowed in over the water. They rode on a small rowboat that was gliding over the waves, the

group of ninja being told of the situation.

"You see, if this bridge is completed, it'll allow the land of waves to establish trade with the mainland," Tazuna explained to them, "the problem

is, Gatou has a stranglehold over this region, and the bridge would break that."

"Gatou?" Lloyd asked.

"He's a business man that controls a huge company," Kakashi explained, "you're saying that he is behind the attack on your life?"

"As they way we are now, this land is easily controlled by Gatou and his thugs," Tazuna explained, "we have no choice but to abide by them

because the state of our economy...if I were to complete this bridge, the oppression put on our people would be broken because of the more

accessible trade."

"So...what you're saying is that if the bridge is made everything will get better here?" Lloyd asked. "So that's why this Gatou guy is trying to kill

you, to make sure he keeps control?"

"To sum it up, yes," Tazuna nodded.

"Is the situation here really that bad?" Sasuke asked laxly, crossing his arms and looking around coldly.

Naruto glared a bit at Sasuke, he just thought he was SO cool, didn't he? Acting like it was no big deal...it ticked him off. He frowned and

scratched at the bandages around his hand a bit...that stupid stone itched. Well...okay, the stone didn't, but the skin around it sure as hell did.

The genin was so preoccupied with it that he barely noticed as they discussed the state of the people, which all in all was poverty and fearful

rule. Lloyd was getting more and more agitated as the description went on, obviously not liking the way things were here. This Gatou and his

thugs...they were no better than the Desians, scaring people into submission and taking whatever they heck they wanted. His fists clenched at

his sides. Protecting the bridge builder was their mission...and if he lived, things would get better for the people, so even if it wasn't what they

had signed up for, he was glad to accept the task.

"You do realize this is not a valid mission any longer?" Kakashi asked Tazuna. "I could take my squad and just leave, this would be a classified

A rank mission at the least..."

"What?!" Naruto said. "And just leave the old man to fend for himself!? But we said we'd protect him!"

"He lied to us, we do not have an obligation," Sasuke said simply, closing his eyes.

"Oh stop being an ass!" Lloyd said. "Everyone has an obligation to help people if they can!"

"How you got to be a ninja, I can't fathom," Sasuke said coldly, glaring at him, "ideals like that will only get in the way."

Instead of making him mad, the Uchiha was mildly surprised when the brunette laughed.

"What's so funny?" he asked curtly, not used to being laughed at.

"Ideals are the only things that give you what you need to do what you must," Lloyd smiled, "if you don't have something to fight for, or

someone to fight for, there's no point in fighting."

The raven-haired boy only snorted and looked away, all the remaining members of the group aside from Kakashi examining him in a mild

interest, or surprise, whatever it may have been. Their sensei chuckled and eye-smiled in his usual fashion, bringing his hand to his chin.

"Having one of your fortune-cookie moments, are you, Lloydie-boy?" he asked.

"Oh shut up, Kakashi!"

"W- Well, whatever! Nii-san is right anyway!" Naruto said. "We said we'd do it, so we should do it!"

"Yeah...it wouldn't feel right to just leave now..." Sakura agreed with a soft nod.

"...Whatever," Sasuke said with a shrug.

"Well then, I guess we're stuck with it..." Kakashi sighed, "we'll continue to aid you, Tazuna."

"Great!" the old man beamed. "Now let's get a move on, we're at shore now..."

"Huh? We are? Wow! I didn't even notice!" Naruto said loudly.

"Shut UP, idiot!" Sakura said. "We need to be QUIET!"

"Yes, and your shouting is really helping with that," Sasuke said flatly.

Sakura instantly stopped and Naruto muttered to himself, glaring at both of his teammates. Lloyd watched his friend pout and frowned himself;

how was he supposed to get that exsphere off of him...? He didn't have the key-crest, and he didn't know how to make another...there had to

be some way! But what? He pondered this as they wandered through the woods. After a minute Naruto tweaked, which caught his attention.

The short blond looked off to the side and Lloyd's own senses locked on a spot off in the trees. Almost simultaneously they threw two kunai

knives, succeeding in startling the hell out of Sakura-...not that that was a difficult feat.

"W- What the-!?" she said.

"What are you two throwing at?" Sasuke hissed.

"I heard something!" Naruto said.

"I bet you were just faking it to try and look cool-!"

"I heard it too," Lloyd said, "let's check it out."

They cleared away the brush and found the cause to be...a bunny, a white, fluffy, harmless bunny.

"AAAAHHH! I'm so SORRY little bunny!" Naruto cried, hugging the terrified creature. "I didn't mean it-!!"

"You idiots, it was just a rabbit!" Sakura snapped.

"...The rabbit's fur...is white..." Kakashi muttered to himself.

"I know I heard something else, though..." Lloyd said, confused.

"...This rabbit is usually brown this time of year," Kakashi said, "if it's white, that must mean it was raised in captivity...in order to be used as a

substitution...EVERYONE GET DOWN!"

They hit the dirt as a large sword went whirling above their heads like a giant shuriken, slicing through several trees before getting wedged in

the last. The group looked up, startled, as a man appeared standing on the wide end of the sword. He was tall, his face wrapped in bandages

and a large pair of white pants, the typical ninja sandals, and a mist ninja mark on his head band.

"Welcome to the land of waves," the man chuckled darkly, "I'd figured I'd give you a suitable welcome."

The group took defensive stance with the exception of Kakashi, who merely glared.

"Zabuza Momochi, S-Ranked Criminal...never thought I'd have the pleasure," Kakashi said.

"You know this guy, sensei!?" Naruto blurted.

"I'm honored, Kakashi Hatake," the man said back, "unfortunately I'm not here to have fun with you...hand over the bridge builder."

"Sure, and then we'll invite you to dinner," Lloyd spat, "like hell we will!"

"Big words from a brat," Zabuza said.

Lloyd glared. Brat? Oh, he'd show this guy 'brat'...

"...Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto," Kakashi said, "get into position around Tazuna, protect him."

The three did as they were told quickly.

"Lloyd...I'm going to need your help," Kakashi said, lifting up his headband.

"What? You can't take me all by yourself?" Zabuza mocked. "It's not like that little boy will be of any help to you anyways, if anything he'll just

drag you down... such a fool, I expected more."

"A ninja must see underneath the underneath," Kakashi stated, "you should know better than to judge on appearances."

"Well, that may be-"

Zabuza cut off when he suddenly leapt to another tree, several kunai flying past where he just stood. Lloyd's gaze instantly locked onto the

passing kunai and noted that a blue, glowing feather was attached to each, wrapped around the handle much like how someone would roll up

a paper bomb.

Blue feathers...

"Damn it! What's going on-?!" Zabuza shouted.

A young shinobi donning a mask appeared next to Zabuza, apparently wounded.

"I'm sorry, Zabuza-sama, I-"

"You shouldn't run from your problems," a deep voice said.

Kratos appeared on the scene in full shinobi gear, his eyes narrowed on his target.

"Believe me, I know," he stated simply.

"Dad?!" Lloyd cried.

"Kratos-san!?" Naruto yelped.

"What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked, startled yet calm.

"I was sent to collect these two," he stated simply, "I can explain later."

"Probably for the best," Kakashi nodded, getting into position.

Zabuza, noting that the tide was being turned against him, quickly initiated a mist jutsu, completely obscuring vision to everyone in it. Lloyd

was lucky, his ears were much more reliable than that of his teammates, even Kakashi, but he could hear the other three panicking. Though

they didn't say much, he could hear their hearts beginning to beat frantically.

"WATER DRAGON JUTSU!"

Lloyd barely managed to get out of the way as a large serpentine creature made of water whirled through the mist and made a wild snap at

him, swooping around the fog like a snake. He could hear it move through after Kakashi and his father before it went straight for the three

genin and Tazuna-

"RAGING MIST!"

The mist blew away and the water dragon vaporized into naught in mid-air as a boiling mass of magma appeared beneath it and intense wisps

of heat visibly manifested themselves in the air. Naruto and the others yelped in shock at the jutsu ending but feet from them.

"...Fireball jutsu that, Sasuke," Naruto said, the first to recover his voice.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Genis said, smirking smugly by the formation.

"When did you get here?!" Sakura blurted.

"Aren't you supposed to be ninjas? Shouldn't you have known I was coming?" the half-elf asked.

"Guys! Are you all right?!" Lloyd asked, racing forward toward them.

"Yep!" Genis said. "Here to save your ass, as usual!"

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, Kratos wasn't just going to leave me there while he went off bounty-hunting..." the boy pouted.

Bounty hunting? Lloyd looked off for his father and found him exchanging blows with the masked boy, who really was more capable a ninja

than he looked. Kakashi on the other hand was going toe-to-toe with Zabuza, on the WATER of all things... Sure, ninjas were capable of

walking on water, but it was still something to see... Lloyd raced back towards the fight.

"Genis, take care of Naruto and the others, all right?!" he said.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted.

"Oh fine, but you owe me for this Lloyd!" Genis called after him. "Leaving me with the newbies..."

"Newbies?!" Sakura scoffed.

"How many near death situations have you been in, before this?" he asked.

"...Uh...well-"

"That would be very few," Sasuke stated.

"Exactly," he smirked, "newbies."

The Uchiha snorted, obviously offended at having his pride insulted by the short silver-haired little half-elf. After all, being the type of person he

was, pride was really the only thing he gave half a rat's rear about. Genis took formation next to Tazuna but behind the other threee where he

would have time to cast and see where the biggest threat would be coming from. The young mage figured he would be using electricity and

fire, seeing as the ninja they were dealing with were water ninja. He watched Lloyd, Kratos and Kakashi fight and began chanting up another

spell just in case-

Sakura screamed.

Zabuza appeared in the midst of their formation just as Genis let loose with a 'thunder blade', causing the being to disappear in a burst of

water. A clone, oh good, he'd freaked out there for a minute-

"GAH-!"

Naruto fell onto his knees, clutching his bandaged hand while his face scrunched up in pain.

"H- Huh?! Hey, Naruto, are you all right!?" Genis asked his peer, worried.

"Naruto-!" Sakura cried.

The blond writhed on the floor as he clutched the exsphere on his hand. It burned, like it was being branded into his flesh. Genis put his hand

on the boy's shoulder, trying to get him to calm down. Of course, the other people in the area took notice that the blond and the silver-head

were currently not paying attention to the fight, which Zabuza and his young ward took advantage of. The masked boy hurled several senbon

at Naruto and Genis' vital points, causing Lloyd to withdraw from the battle in order to block the attack.

"GUARDIAN!" he shouted, the needles falling to the side harmlessly.

Haku, now free of an apponent, managed to slip away to Zabuza's side as the criminal deflected a blow from Kakashi.

"Zabuza-sama, we should retreat!" he said.

"I know!"

"And where do you think you're going?" Kakashi growled, racing toward them.

"DAD!" Lloyd cried from the shore. "Naruto's-!"

The Seraph saw the pleading look on his son's face as he tried to get Naruto on his feet, the young blond screaming out in pain as he clutched

his hand. Kratos didn't know what was happening, but Lloyd had let his guard down to go to his friend's aid, meaning... With a low growl he

raced to his son and his companions just when Haku made a move to finish the children. Lloyd brought up his sword to fend off the attack just

in time for his father to send the masked ninja flying with a swift kick to the face, succeeding in cracking the mask somewhat. The angel stood

before the children and Tazuna in a defensive stance, his eyes locked on Haku, daring him to try it again. The boy said nothing and disappeared

into the woods, having already succeeded in his goal. Kakashi appeared with the rest of them a moment later, short of breath and frustrated

that his mark had gotten away. Zabuza had taken the chance when Kakashi was his sole opponent to flee, leaving the tension in the air feeling

oddly empty...and rather anti-climatic.

"...They got away," Kakashi growled.

"Lloyd," Kratos snapped, "you should've kept your guard up. If I had been a second slower you might have been-"

"I would've taken care of it just fine!" Lloyd snapped up at him. "You shouldn't have left Kakashi!"

"Well what did you expect him to do?" Kakashi said tiredly, pulling he headband over one eye like usual. "His only son was getting attacked, it's

in Kratos-san's nature to run to your aid, Lloydie-boy."

"HELLO!" Sakura shouted. "Naruto's-!"

The blond lay coughing and spitting out blood on the ground, his skin pale as his lips turned purple. Lloyd knelt by his friend's side as Genis and

Kratos both went wide-eyed in recognition.

"The toxicosis...?" Genis said slowly, his eyes wide.

"We need to leave this area," Kratos stated, "Naruto is in bad shape and Kakashi is exhausted."

"Kakashi's exhausted?" Sasuke asked, looking up. "He doesn't-"

The copy-nin fell forward on his face.

"...Nice one, chicken-head," Genis said flatly.

The Uchiha's eye twitched.

"You're starting to tick me off, kid-"

"Kid? I'm the same age as you-!"

"What's wrong with Kakashi-sensei!?" Sakura asked.

"Using the sharingan must have exhausted his chakra," Kratos explained.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the mention of the kekkei genkai, but he said nothing.

"My house isn't far from here," Tazuna said, "I'll lead the way..."

"Lloyd, carry Naruto," Kratos said as he helped Kakashi to his feet, "once everything calms down, we'll do our respective explaining."

"Uh...r-right," Lloyd nodded, picking up his friend.

"Heh, sorry to be a problem..." Kakashi managed to laugh weakly.

"You shouldn't try to talk, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said.

"Nah, I can talk," he eye-smiled, "if the fight lasted much longer, I probably wouldn't even be conscious..."

"Can we hurry up already!?" Lloyd asked, Naruto whimpering like a wounded animal in his grip.

So the group made their way quickly into Tazuna's home, scaring his daughter Tsunami almost to death when her father showed up with a

bunch of ninja, two of which appeared to be in need of medical attention. Kakashi wasn't as severe, he just needed to rest, so they found a

place for him to lay down before finding another place for Naruto. They placed the genin on the bed and Kratos took control of the situation.

"Tsunami-san, was it?" Kratos asked.

"Y- Yes, Kratos-san?" she asked.

"Do you have a cloth and some ice?" he asked.

"Y- Yes, I'll get it," she nodded.

"Sakura, correct?" Kratos said.

"Yeah, Kratos-san?" she asked.

"Go with her and get some water, understand?"

"H- Hai!"

The females ran off as Lloyd attempted to look at the exsphere on Naruto's hand, which was a task more difficult than one would expect

because the kitsune-holder was doing quite a bit of thrashing. He had managed to remove the bandages, but the gem remained elusive to get

a full view of.

"Sasuke," Kratos stated.

"Yes?" the Uchiha looked up at him.

"Go check on Kakashi-san," he said, "take care of him."

"...All right," he said as he walked out of the room.

No sooner had he laughed Genis rounded on Lloyd for answers.

"Lloyd, what's going on?! Is that an exsphere!? How-?! Why does he have an exsphere!?" the half-elf cried.

"Indeed," Kratos nodded stiffly, "where did it come from and how did it come to be attached to him?"

"L- Look," Lloyd said, "can't we talk about this once he's a little better?"

"No," Kratos said flatly.

"...I-" Lloyd started.

"We've brought what you've asked for, Kratos-san!" Sakura said, running in with Tsunami.

"Thank you," he stated, "Genis-"

"Way ahead of you," the half-elf said.

He soaked the cloth in water and placed it over Naruto's forehead, removing the headband once the genin had calmed down to the point he

simply laid silently on the bed, his breathing still irregular and face pale. Lloyd frowned. The angel toxicosis...so his exsphere really was close to

a Cruxis Crystal.

He had figured, of course, but he didn't think it would behave like that if it didn't have a key-crest and all... After a few minutes, everything and

everyone had seemed to have calmed down. Naruto and Kakashi both lay sleeping soundly on their respective beds as Tazuna explained what

happened to his daughter, and Genis began explaining to the others...

"Kratos was given a mission to track down that Zabuza guy," Genis said to the squad minus Naruto, "so that's how we ended up here. We

didn't have any idea he'd be going after you guys, though... Apparently there have been some shady stories about him, but I'm not quite sure

why he'd be going after the bridge-builder guy you're supposed to be protecting."

"We can explain that later, but why did you come, Genis?" Lloyd asked.

"What, I was just going to wait in that village alone?" the half-elf huffed, crossing his arms. "I can be useful! You know that! Sure, Kratos didn't

quite want me along-"

"His incessant whining began to try my patience," Kratos said simply.

"Hey! I didn't whine!" Genis whined.

"...You just did," Sakura pointed out.

"Oh shut up!"

"Finally, someone told her to shut up," Sasuke smirked.

"You too, chicken-head!"

The Uchiha glared as Lloyd suppressed a snicker.

"Anyway...um...I guess I'll tell you why Zabuza's after Tazuna..." Lloyd trailed.

As he explained to his father and friend, he tried to keep in the back of his mind he would also have to explain how Naruto came to have an

exsphere attached to his flesh once they were alone...and then they'd try to tackle the bigger problem: How to get it off of him.

**Hectic, I know, but it was necessary...next chapter things will calm down. And I know, Naruto and Sasuke didn't get the character **

**development they were supposed to in this fight, but don't worry, they will. n.n They need to grow as people...and it just didn't seem right **

**not to have Kratos and Genis there, that's what the story is about anyway...the Tales Characters being here...:(...**

**Sarutobi: Well, at least you put it up.**

**Me: True...though I quite liked 'Fireball jutsu that, Sasuke' XD**

**Sarutobi: Review if you actually enjoyed this. **

**Me:...Meanie...**


	12. TREE CLIMBING! DUN DUN DUN

**IT'S THE APOCALYSPE! AN UPDATE!!!**

**I know it's taken me a while, I'm sorry…-_-' I had almost the whole chapter done before my laptop died and- well, here we are. -_-'**

**Sarutobi: Freakyanimegal owns nothing.**

**Me: Right. Let's get this done with shall we?**

**TREE CLIMBING! DUN DUN DUN**

Naruto found himself once more sitting in the dark halls that made up his inner mind, the kyuubi thrashing around in its cage far at the end.

Momentarily the blonde wondered how he had gotten there again when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Huh-? AH!!"

The genin jumped about a foot backward from the elder blonde that had tapped him, the half-elf raising an eyebrow before grinning and crossing

his arms.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked.

"H- Huh?" Naruto stared.

"You used my power just then with those two masked ninja," Mithos said, his grin gone, "so what do you think of it? I assure you, there's more

where that came from if you want it…"

Naruto gave the other boy a blank look before his memory caught up with him- how he had used that weird jutsu back with the two assassins.

"Th…that was you?" Naruto stared, gaping at the taller boy.

"Well of course, it wasn't furball back there," he scoffed, pointing at the fox.

That…that was…incredible, wasn't it? Then why did he get such a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach?

"So? What did you think?" Mithos asked again, an impatient look in his face.

"I- wow! That was amazing!" he said. "But…but what did that…do to me?"

The half-elf flinched slightly.

"Do to you?"

"Y- Yeah, I didn't feel right for a moment…" Naruto bit his lip, "and…you came from that stone on my hand, right? It's…hurting me."

Mithos' eyes widened slightly, not with surprise, but rather with concern that the genin had noticed so quickly. It shouldn't have been beginning

to hurt that quickly…

"Oh, that, don't worry, I'll look into it."

Before Naruto could say anything he disappeared from his own world, leaving a suddenly worried Mithos Yggdrasill. Something was amiss here.

Ignoring the howling of the fox he turned down another hallway, looking around as if he was expecting something to be there. After a minute or

two of this he found something other than empty hallways. A large mass of mana- chakra, whatever- was hovering in an empty room in the

'complex'. This was where Mithos had appeared in this place…this was the exsphere. Mithos wasn't sure exactly how he separated from it, but he

hadn't questioned it at the time. He looked up at the glowing blue mass and frowned deeply, as if somehow it would talk and tell him what he

wanted to know. The exsphere shouldn't have been hurting this quickly.

"Why would it be doing this…?" he hissed to himself.

He examined it a while before he let out a sigh. Nothing seemed too strange about it. Deciding to wonder about it later, he went to leave.

Then he felt it.

Mithos' eyes widened as he felt a sudden surge of chakra rushing toward the room, barely evading it as a river of red energy surged suddenly

into the blue mass of mana. The fox was shrieking in the distance, but Mithos was too shocked to care much about it. It was observing that fox?!

He'd thought for sure it would go after the boy's chakra, not that demon- it was sealed, wasn't it?! Then what-?

"OH G-!"

Just as the mass of chakra had surged into the exsphere, another mass shot out from it like a snake, charging right at Mithos. The half-elf let out

a scream as the mana- for that's what it was, blue mana- began to delve itself into his being. In a split second, it was over, and Mithos found

himself panting on the floor.

What the hell was that?! It took the Kyuubi's energy and gave him some? What did that mean? He looked up at the exsphere as it twisted with a

streak of red, leaving the half-elf to speculate. Further in, the Kyuubi groaned as it looked up and noticed the seal on his cage. The seal that was

quickly beginning to tear at the edges and curl…

* * *

"Naruto?!"

The blond was disoriented when all of his companions had rushed in- well, Sakura, Lloyd and Genis had, anyway. Kakashi was still resting, Sasuke

didn't give a rat, and Kratos merely walked in behind his child.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Genis asked.

"Y- yeah, I'm fine," he shook his head, "thanks Genis…what happened?"

Lloyd explained to the blond what had happened as the genin bit his lip, deep in thought.

"Naruto? What is it?" Lloyd asked.

"Huh-? Uh, nothing, Nii-san!" he said, then his face fell. "I'm just mad I did something that caused problems…"

"Hey, don't even worry about it," Lloyd said sternly, "at all."

"Well- Yeah! I won't mess up again! Be-"

"Naruto, may I ask you something?" Kratos interrupted, walking in.

"Huh-? Uh, sure, what is it Kratos-san?"

"That stone on your hand," he stated simply, glancing at it, "..let me see it."

"What-? Uh..okay," he nodded.

Nervously he reached out the back of his hand and Kratos took it, glancing down at the exsphere with a very unpleased expression. Everyone

else crowded around to see what had caused the Seraphs' frown and found it to be the streak of red that curled in it.

"What the…?" Lloyd gasped lightly.

"What happened to it!?" Genis stared.

"What? I don't understand, is that bad?" Sakura asked as she attempted to get a good view of it.

"I see," Kratos said simply, releasing Naruto's hand.

With that he simply turned and walked out.

"What the-?! DAD!" Lloyd shouted. "Get back here-!!"

The red-clad boy ran out after his father and Genis hesitated before doing the same, leaving Sakura alone with Naruto. They looked at each other

awkwardly before Naruto looked at the back of his hand, feeling his face pale as he looked at the crimson swirl in the blue stone.

He didn't like where this was going.

Unfortunately for all involved, no answers were produced for their curiosity. Instead, all of them found themselves in the woods with the wounded

Kakashi and the (still not answering them) Kratos. It had been decided between the jounin that the young group was in need of training, and

quickly. Kakashi had come up with his solution in relatively little time:

"CLIMBING TREES!?" team seven shouted with the exception of Lloyd.

"Oh man, not this again," Lloyd groaned into his hand.

"Again?" Sakura looked at him skeptically.

"Dad showed me how to do it before," he said grudgingly, still irritated with his father for refusing to answer his question about the exsphere.

"I don't get it, how is climbing trees training?!" Naruto accused, pointing at Kakashi.

"Now let me explain," Kakashi eye-smiled, "it's all about chakra control. What you need to do in this exercise- ah, well, Lloydie-boy, why don't you

show them?"

"It's Lloyd!" the brunette scoffed, but turned to face a tree anyway.

"You need to focus your chakra on the soles of your feet," Kratos explained to the three genin as Genis sat off to the side, his head tilted in

interest, "by doing that it should allow you to stick to the tree and simply walk up it."

"Yeah, like this," Lloyd put his hands together, concentrating his mana to his feet.

After doing that for a moment he ran for the tree, and instead of hitting it he simply ran up it as if he was still walking on flat grown.

"Wow! That was so cool!" Genis applauded, grinning.

"How did-?" Sakura stared up at Lloyd, who was now hanging upside down from a branch.

"Awesome skills," Lloyd said with a smug smirk, crossing his arms over his chest, "and practice, that too."

"The trick is you need to use just the right amount," Kakashi eye-smiled, "too much, you'll repel from the tree, too little and you won't stick at all."

"That's well and good and all, but what does this help with?" Sasuke said with a sneer.

"Chakra control allows you to use jutsu more effectively," Sakura recited as if from a schoolbook, "that way you don't waste chakra that you could

use later."

"Exactly," Kakashi nodded, "now, I want the three of you to practice climbing up the trees. Mark how far you get each time with a kunai."

With that he eye-smiled and began to hobble away on the crutch he was using.

"I'll check in on you in a few hours, m'kay? Have fun!"

"Hey! Kakashi, you're not even going to hang around?!" Lloyd snapped.

"Lloyd, watch after them for a while," Kratos instructed.

"What? What are you going to do, then?" the boy glared.

"…"

Then he walked away.

"I hate it when he does that," Lloyd groaned.

"Yeah, he almost acts like Sasuke when he does that," Naruto spat, glaring at the Uchiha.

"Hey! Don't compare my dad to Sasuke!" Lloyd protested from the tree-top.

"He's right here!" Sakura whined.

"So? We wouldn't say anything we wouldn't say to his face, right Genis?"

Lloyd stopped when he didn't get an answer.

"Genis? Hey, where'd Genis go-?"

"I ACTUALLY DID IT!!!"

The group looked up at another tree, where Genis was almost jumping up and down on a high branch as he grinned and giggled down at their

shocked faces.

"Bet you didn't see that coming, did ya?!" he grinned, looking quite pleased with himself.

"What the-? How did he do it?! He's not even a ninja!" Sakura cried in distress.

"Yeah well," he smirked, scratching his nose, "I've got a lot of experience using m- chakra, and all. I guess after all of that work with it this kind of

thing is easy."

"Heh heh, way to go, Genis!" Lloyd grinned, giving his friend a victory sign from his tree.

"I think I'll just sit up here and watch you three," Genis said as he sat down on the limb, "after all, if _I _can do it it's only a matter of time before

you do."

Sasuke's eye twitched.

"You little brat, are you mocking us?" he hissed.

"Nah, more like I'm being condescending," the half-elf teased, sticking out his tongue.

Sasuke charged the tree, causing Genis to yelp in shock before the Uchiha found himself forced back from the bark, a large dent of sorts where his

foot had hit.

"What the-?! D- Don't scare me like that you prick!" Genis shouted down. "Besides, if you get mad like that it's not gonna work! See?! You used

too much mana and it pushed you back!"

"Mana?" Sakura asked as she looked up at him. "What the heck is that?"

"H- Huh? Oh, nothing, I meant chakra," he lied, "still, you can see where he went wrong."

"No one can really tell where he went wrong," Naruto said with a bit of a growl toward Sasuke.

The two boys met each other's eyes with a glare before they both went for different trees, each of them having to abandon their climb. Sasuke for

using too much, Naruto for using too little and falling flat on his back. Lloyd watched in amusement before he jumped to Genis' tree, startling the

half-elf a second before the brunette sat down next to him.

"I gotta admit Genis, you kind of surprised me," he grinned.

"What? You didn't think I could do the chakra thing?" he asked.

"Nah, I just never thought I'd actually see you climb a tree."

There was a moment of silence.

"I hate you sometimes, Lloyd," Genis glared.

Lloyd merely laughed, looking down at the genin.

"So who do you think will get to the top first?" he asked.

"Um…Sakura," Genis said.

"Sakura?" Lloyd stared at his friend.

Though he didn't like to talk down about people, Sakura didn't seem to have anything going for her except brains. Brains she continually yapped

about that lost their impressiveness after the fifty-millionth time. So for Genis to say Sakura was kind of strange.

"Yeah, why not?" Genis shrugged.

"Um…I was gonna say either Naruto or Sasuke, but-"

"Yoooo hoooooo!!!!"

Genis grinned as everyone's jaw dropped and Sakura waved from another tree at the boys.

Sasuke's twitch worsened and Naruto looked like he was going to pass out.

"Well boys, what do you think?" she grinned sheepishly at them.

"Told ya," Genis smirked at Lloyd, "you owe me your dessert."

"What?! I didn't make that bet!"

As Genis and Lloyd began to argue about oncoming food, Naruto and Sasuke were more determined than ever to climb their respective trees.

They couldn't let Sakura upstage them when she wasn't even in their rivalry to begin with!

"Doesn't…doesn't anyone care?" Sakura moaned in disappointment.

"I care!" Genis called from his tree with a frantic wave.

_Oh great, the twerp cares! Ooooohhh….Sasuke, I thought you'd be impressed!!_

* * *

"I see," Kakashi stated simply, closing his one visible eye.

Kratos nodded simply, his own face furrowed in thought as the copy-nin took in the facts he had been presented with.

"So an exsphere takes the hosts chakra and can cause it to go out of control," Kakashi sighed loudly, "so if the stone is removed Naruto…is there

any way to stop it?"

"Yes," Kratos nodded, "but it requires materials and skills I am not aware are possessed on this world. Unless there is something on this planet

that could serve as a substitute."

Kakashi seemed to ponder this a while before he sighed and shook his head.

"Nothing I know of…though there was something that sounds like that 'key-crest' thing on the exsphere before it was attached to Naruto," he

said, glancing at Kratos, "however, Madara took it with him."

Kratos closed his eyes in an agitated huff. Having been told about the encounter he couldn't say much more as reaction aside from acknowledging

what facts they had. Madara had attached the exsphere to Naruto for no set reason, he had taken the key-crest and had put some sort of seal

on Sasuke's forehead…

"About the Uchiha," Kratos spoke up after a moment, "has he shown any signs of alteration from…?"

"I checked it over and over," Kakashi sighed, "it seems to be a memory seal of some kind."

"Why would Madara seal something Sasuke's memory?" Kratos raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's more like he sealed a memory INTO Sasuke…" he sighed loudly again, "it hasn't done anything yet, but I don't think there's anything that

I can do for it myself."

"…I see," Kratos stated, closing his eyes before turning toward the door.

"Now where are you going?" the copy-nin asked.

"Zabuza and he accomplice escaped," Kratos reminded him, "they are injured, thus it may be the best time to try and seek out their hide-out."

"That sounds logical," he agreed, "but I'm still worried about the kids- I mean, I know Lloyd can hold himself well but the rest of my pupils…and

that Genis kid, I'm not sure how they'll fare if something goes wrong while you're gone."

"Genis is as capable of holding his own as Lloyd is," Kratos stated simply, "for the time being training is the best thing for them. I'll return as soon

as I can, hopefully before Zabuza can make an attack."

The copy-ninja nodded with a bit of a grimace.

"Right right, fine then," he stated, "though one more thing about that exsphere…"

Kratos looked at him Kakashi's eye narrowed.

"If Naruto's chakra goes out of control, it will be a lot, lot worse than if it did so for a normal person, you do know that," he said curtly, "if you can

think of another way to get it off him- at all- I'd be willing to listen. Even if it's something that seems risky, I'd like to know about it."

The Seraph looked at him a moment more before shaking his head and leaving the building.

"…How complicated these people make things," Kakashi groaned, rubbing his temple with his hand, "oh well…"

He eye-smiled before he slid his familiar orange book out from his pocket.

"Now then, where was I?" he chuckled, flipping through the pages.

**Over a two-thousand five-hundred word count…not bad, I can live with that. n.n I actually managed to get into this chapter! WOO! n.n And **

**yeah…I am going somewhere with these little plot plug-ins, just in case you weren't sure. (wink)**

**Sarutobi: Just don't overdo it. You tend to do that.**

**Me: Oh shut up…(mutters) so one story got out of hand, so what? (mutters)**

**Sarutobi: Review if you still remember this story. Like she doesn't.**

**Me: Shut up!!!**


	13. The Bridge

**Well, though I do not like Naruto any longer, I decided to at least finish the bridge-arc. I don't particular like stopping something before it's done…I always want to make sure I see it through to the end, or AN end, at least. So yes, two or three more chapters.**

**Sarutobi: Then I get to retire. n.n**

**Me: (rolls eyes) I own nothing.**

**Sarutobi: And go to Figi…**

**Me: Men never change…**

**The Bridge**

"Are you sure it was okay to leave Naruto back there?" Lloyd frowned, looking out the window.

"He was training pretty hard yesterday and he's still snoring like a bear," Sakura shrugged, "I see no problem with leaving him back home with Inari and Tsunami."

"He's gonna be mad at us," Lloyd sighed.

"Oh, he'll get over it," Genis rolled his eyes, "He knows where it is. This bridge is so cool, though, isn't it?! The architecture's different than the Grand Tethe'alla bridge-"

"The what?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," Genis said, "So how long do we have to stay out here?"

"A while, we got to guard Tazuna," Lloyd said, pointing at the old man.

"Until the bridge is done?" the silver-haired boy asked. "Well…it's just, it has been a few days since the last fight…you don't think the two of those Mist Ninjas will be coming after us again this soon, do you?"

"I haven't seen Dad since then either," Lloyd frowned, biting his lip.

"I'm sure he's fine," Kakashi shrugged, smiling lightly.

"Well, you recovered pretty fast at least, Sensei," Sakura said.

"Of course," he eye-smiled, "Couldn't leave you all defenseless for too long!"

"Hmph," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"That guy sure is full of himself," Genis muttered to Lloyd, who nodded.

"Well then, so long as nothing's happening…" Kakashi looked around, "At least keep it a bit more quiet, hm? Just because the water is still doesn't mean there are no sharks."

"…What-?" Lloyd started.

"It's a proverb, Lloyd," Genis rolled his eyes.

"I- I know that!" he huffed, turning a bit red. "Geez, you don't always have to treat me like I'm an idiot you know."

"Though you pretty much are," Sasuke said curtly.

"I also out-rank you!" Lloyd snapped back.

"Well, I hope Naruto's relaxing," Genis muttered, "It's probably much more quiet there."

Of course, Genis didn't quite realize that at the moment there was a bit of a problem. Naruto had chased after them shortly after waking, leaving the house- essentially- unprotected. In their absence two of Gato's men had broken into the house and taken Tsunami hostage. Of course, her son, Inari, had to come across this scene.

"Inari- Run-!" she started.

"Hey, should we take the kid too?" one thug asked.

"Nah, they only want one captive…we can kill this one," smirked the other.

He froze.

"Run!" cried his mother.

He couldn't move, he fell onto his knees, shaking and crying as they approached him.

"Wait!" his mother started. "If you kill him…I'll cut my tongue with my teeth and drown in my own blood. Then what will you do for a live hostage?"

By the look on her face, all present could tell that she was serious. Her eyes bore into the men that represented a threat to her child, and all know that the most dangerous place on earth is between a mother and her children.

"Tch…fine, you lucked out kid," said the first, sheathing his sword.

"Aw, I wanted to kill something," sighed the other.

"You already got to kill something on the way here, don't bitch."

Inari watched in horror as they bound and gagged his mother, and all the while he could only think about a day previous to this, after Naruto and Lloyd had come back from training. It had made him mad, how these people were so confident, how they were saying they were going to save them all. How dare they? How could they after the man that had been like a father to him had died, failed doing what they were trying to do?

"_You're all stupid! You're just going to die!" he had shouted. _

"_Hey-! Look-" Genis started._

"_If you-" Lloyd began._

_"SHUT UP!" Naruto shouted.._

_All present turned their attention to the blond, who was shaking a bit, glaring at the youngest boy in their presence._

"_You wanna grow up to be a man someday, that stop giving up so easily! Stop crying! I heard about that guy you cry about…you think he would have been proud of you for acting like this?!"_

_Naruto slammed his hands on the table and stood up, glaring at the smaller male._

"_He was a hero, isn't that why you admired him?! If you really admired him you'd honor his memory by not being such a coward! At LEAST! If I were you, I'd be doing my best to become like him myself! A hero doesn't give up, a hero doesn't wimp out and cry! A hero protects people!"_

Those words kept running through his head again and again…

"Guh…" he clenched his fists, gritting his teeth together.

Yeah…that Naruto guy was obnoxious but…but he was right!

The boy picked up a shoe beside him at the entrance, throwing it with all his might at one of the assailants. Of course, this did nothing but piss them off…

"Ow-! The hell-!?"

"You little brat!" shouted the other, drawing his sword. "Forget it, I'll kill you anyway!"

His mother tried to shout at him to run, but her mouth was covered and the other one silenced her with a swift smack to the face. As they approached Inari, the boy closed his eyes, losing his courage once more time-

Nothing happened.

He opened his eyes and found a grinning blond genin standing over the two unconscious thugs.

"Hey! I told you not to give up so easily, didn't I?" he grinned.

"N- Naruto-!" the boy's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, I'm here," he grinned, "Now let me untie your mom."

"Y- Yeah!" he nodded, running to his mother. "Are you all right, Mom?"

The woman managed to nod and then answer him when they removed the gag, Naruto untying the boy's mother.

"Thank you so much, Naruto!" Tsunami smiled weakly, hugging her son.

"How did you know we needed help?" Inari asked, staring up at the older boy.

"Well, I was heading for the bridge and I saw this boar all cut up, and they pretty much made a trail leading this way with all the trees and stuff they cut up on the way here," Naruto explained, looking rather proud of himself, "So it wasn't hard to figure out."

"We'll get somewhere safe," Tsunami nodded, "If they're here, I'm guessing those other ninja are going after your friends, you better hurry up and go after them."

"Right," Naruto nodded, "Be careful!"

With that the young ninja began to run off, but not before Inari spoke up.

"W- Wait!" he said, his eyes wide.

"Huh? What is it?" Naruto frowned, looking at him.

"…T…Thanks for…saving us," the boy said weakly, his face downcast.

"Hey, I couldn't have done it without you," grinned the blond.

"Huh-? But I didn't-" he started.

"If you had distracted them like that, I never would've been able to take them by surprise," he said, smiling at him, "So you really helped me, okay?"

Inari looked up at him for a moment before smiling, nodding.

"Y- Yeah, t-…thanks!"

"Okay, now I gotta get going," Naruto said with one last grin, "Got some ass to kick!"

With that he left.

* * *

"I'm so bored," Lloyd yawned.

"Nothing changes," Genis rolled his eyes, "You gotta keep alert, Lloyd! What if those two rogue ninjas show up again?"

"Then Kakashi and the rest of us will kick their butts," Lloyd shrugged.

"The last time, Kratos was here!" the half-elf scoffed. "We know how strong he is, do you really think it would have been as easy without him?!"

"Hey, I beat him once!" Lloyd protested, jabbing a finger at himself.

"Once, yeah, when you were kinda…different," he said, gesturing briefly at Lloyd's size.

"I still did," he muttered, glaring at his friend.

"…By the way, about the exsphere-"

Just then, a thick mist rolled in onto the bridge.

"Huh-? Where did this come from?" a worker asked.

"Yeah, it's-"

Both of them let out screams of pain as they fell to the ground dead. Not needing any other incentive to get on their guard, the assembled warriors clustered around Tazuna in a basic defensive position, their weapons at the ready.

"They're here," Sasuke said simply.

"Noooo, really?" Genis scoffed, rolling his eyes. "What gave it away? The mist which is their signature jutsu?"

Sasuke merely shot him a glare.

"Hm, looks like they've been expecting us, eh, Haku?"

The mist cleared just a bit, revealing Zabuza and his shorter accomplice, the masked 'Haku'. As they approached them, the group tensed, eying the intruders.

"Hm, well well, shall we pick up where we left off?" Kakashi asked, going to reveal his sharingan eye.

"Heh, sure you can beat us without that spiky-haired attack-dog of yours?" Zabuza snorted, his eyes narrowed.

"Let's see, shall we?" he said.

"Hmph, well then, let's begin…"

* * *

Naruto was running through the forest, desperately attempting to get to the bridge.

"Gr! I can't believe nii-san and everyone just left me! I mean, yeah, I guess it was good because I got to save Inari and everything but- who am I talking to?"

"_Well, me and fox-breath can hear you pretty damn good."_

He almost slammed into a the next tree's trunk.

"What the-?!"

"_It's just me, calm down, look, do me a favor and check the ex- that stone on your hand, okay?"_

"Uh…okay?"

The blond slowed his pace just enough so he wouldn't have to worry about slamming into any more trees as he looked down at the back of his hand, finding that the once blue gem was increasingly turning red.

"Huh? What's up with this weird rock?" he gasped.

"_Thought so, let me try something. Stop moving for a moment."_

"Wh-? But I-"

"_STOP."_

Naruto staggered a bit and then did as he was told, frowning and staring at the jewel all the while fighting the urge to continue forward. Little did he know, inside his 'mind', the other blond was frowning, looking at the large mass of mana and chakra that had formed inside the host. It was getting less blue and increasingly red, and…he thought he knew why. It seemed to be sucking the Kyuubi's chakra, and it was pushing out his own mana- the mana that had been in the exsphere. There was still a lot of blue, though, he guessed that was Lloyd's mother's mana. He wasn't quite sure what was going to happen here, but if the Kyuubi's chakra tried to squeeze itself into the exsphere- the stone wouldn't be able to handle it, he knew that much. Which mean that it would probably have some bad effects on Naruto…meaning that he- and thus meaning himself as well- would die.

"Let's see, how do I fix this?" the half-elf frowned. "Hm…"

He mused it for a moment, looking back at the entrance that led to the Kyuubi's cage and then back at the mass. Could he reverse this somehow? Well, he had to try. Maybe if he just..okay, Naruto did those 'jutsu' things by channeling his 'chakra' and then using it…like directing it and stuff. So technically, could he do the same thing, but with mana? In theory it should work, so maybe he could channel his mana back into the sphere- which was probably the exsphere itself- and push out the Kyuubi chakra? Worth a shot. He put his hands together, mimicking the style he had seen Naruto use.

"All right….here goes nothing," he said.

* * *

The exsphere flashed blue, Naruto damn near fell out of the tree.

"H- Hey! You did it!" he grinned.

Silence.

"Um…Mithos?"

"_That took a lot out of me…I'm gonna rest for a bit, sorry, but you're on your own for the next fight."_

Then silence yet again.

"Huh-? Hey! Mithos, are you okay? Hey!" he said, slapping the back of his hand a bit.

Still nothing.

"Grr…I don't have time for this anyway!" he shook his head, taking off through the trees again. "I need to catch up with everyone else!"

So he was off again, doing his best to get to the bridge where the battle was already well underway. What he saw when he got there was mist, Kakashi and Zabuza in a stand-off, Sakura and Genis at Tazuna's side and Sasuke and Lloyd both stuck in what appeared to be a cage made of giant…ice-mirrors? Yeah, that's what they were! And…someone was in them? It looked like the masked person from earlier.

"All right," he grinned, "Time to shine!"

Now, the basic skill for ninjas is to be hidden, stealthy, unseen and…well, let's say they need 'finesse'. So naturally, Naruto burst onto the scene with lots of smoke and noise, grinning the entire time.

"The Hero always shows up late!" he grinned.

Almost everyone smacked themselves in the face with the exception of the mist nin, Sasuke and Tazuna, whom was a little worried for his life at the moment.

"You idiot," Sasuke growled under his breath.

"Well…that's very Naruto-style, actually," Lloyd sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "I guess I'm not too surprised."

"Actually, this could work to our advantage…" Sasuke muttered under his breath.

Lloyd raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing.

"He's on the outside, we're on the inside, maybe if we work at the same time we can find a way to break out," he said as quietly as possibly, his dark eyes scanning the cage around them.

"Hey…yeah," Lloyd's eyes lit up just a bit, "So now we can-?"

"Hey, Sasuke, Nii-san! I snuck in here, isn't that cool?"

The darker haired ninjas gaped at the blond crouched beside them like idiots.

"Y- You idiot!!" Sasuke shouted, his eyes going wide. "Do you have any idea what the _hell _you just did?! Now we're all going to die!!"

"Wh-?! But I-!" Naruto started.

"Naruto, you could've helped us break it from the outside, now we're all in trouble!" Lloyd moaned, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh," Naruto said simply, blinking.

"Okay, we'll just have to think of something else-" Lloyd started, "Move-!"

The boys split up in an attempt to dodge a wave of needles that shoot out from their foe, the thrower sliding back into another mirror the second he had the opportunity.

"Dammit! He's too fast, we can't even see where he's going!" Lloyd snarled, wiping some blood off his cheek from a cut he had received by the flying senbon.

"Well I'm not just gonna stand here and get killed!" Naruto shouted, making a familiar hand-sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Wait, Naruto-!"

The hyperactive blond knucklehead ninja had already done the damage. He raced out all at once at the various 'Hakus', only to get dashed back and then injured himself. Lloyd raced over to his friend, but Sasuke found something that grabbed his attention just a bit more. When Haku went to attack Naruto, there were these….movements, in the water. He wasn't sure if he saw them, but…

"Naruto!" Sasuke said suddenly. "Do that again!"

Lloyd and Naruto both stared at him.

"Wh-?" Lloyd started.

"Huh-? Uh- Okay, right!" Naruto nodded, getting ready to perform the jutsu again.

"Wait a minute-!" Lloyd began, looking at Sasuke.

"Shut up and just try to cover me, okay?!" the Uchiha snapped, preparing himself to catch whatever it was that he expected to see.

Though a bit confused, Lloyd did as he was told. He couldn't fight this guy the way he fought enemies in the past, he knew that, so he'd just have to rely on Sasuke to figure out a strategy. If he could get a hold of Haku, he knew he'd be able to beat him, but as for right now he had to do what he had to do. What bothered him more was that his father was nowhere in sight, and Kratos had left saying that he was going after the mist ninja… There was no way that…they could have beaten him, right? No, of course not, and even if by some miracle they had, they would be pretty beat up by now. Definitely not strong enough to beat them around like this…

"Guardian!"he shouted, forming the barrier around himself and Sasuke as the needles flew again.

He had been using the technique, but sparingly, otherwise he would exhaust his mana way too quickly. The barrages he could possibly avoid he tried to avoid, but he had been using this move on and off for the past few minutes, when it looked particularly bad.

"I see it…" Sasuke whispered after the final barrage, "Almost…"

"What are you muttering about?" Lloyd demanded, growing more and more frustrated with the fight.

"Naruto! One more time, can you do it?!" Sasuke shouted.

The blond was wearing down, obviously, seeing as he was panting, but he responded in his usual fashion; a grin and a nod.

"Y- Yeah! Of course! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

For a third time the genin lunged at their foe, but this time Lloyd followed Sasuke's gaze, trying to pick up on what it was he 'saw'. Luckily for him, he did have angelic senses, otherwise he probably wouldn't have picked up on the small thing Sasuke was trying to see.

"That's it!" Sasuke exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

No sooner had he said it had he let out a shout of pain, dropping the kunai he had been holding and bringing his hands up to clutch his head.

"Sasuke-?!" Naruto gasped.

"Hey, what's wrong-?" Lloyd started.

The Uchiha let out a shout of pain and then collapsed onto the ground, jerking violently.

"What's wrong with his head?!" Naruto gasped.

Lloyd's eyes widened. The seal thing…oh crap, what was going on now?! They were so caught up they didn't realize the next barrage of needles flying toward them until just seconds before it hit them, Lloyd rapidly casting guardian beside his two companions, cursing himself for having not noticed sooner.

He hadn't been this stressed out since his last pop quiz.

**Forgive me if this seems half-assed at all, it's hard to write for something you don't even like anymore -_-' I feel like I'm continuing a Pokemon story I started when I was a kid DX **

**Sarutobi: I find that offensive.**

**Me: Hm…guess you're right, Naruto WAS good at one point, at least. (shrug)**

**Sarutobi: Ho ho ho, well, you can't suck as bad as your first fics-…where did you get that frying pan-? **

**(BANG)**

**Me: So yeah, thanks for reading n.n'**


	14. So It Ends

**M'kay last chapter. Again, I apologize if this chapter totally blows but frankly I don't care anymore, Naruto itself blows now so…yeah -_-' I'll do my best to both make it entertaining and wrap things up, but I'm telling you one thing I am so not into this fic or anything Naruto related anymore….but I'll do my best.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**So it ends**

Lloyd wasn't sure how he had let it happen.

There he was, though, standing outside a cage of ice mirrors looking in at the fallen Uchiha as Naruto gaped in horror and shock. Lloyd and Genis had been attempting to break through the cage of sorts with a combination of artes, jutsu and spells- mainly fire ones provided by the young Sage mage. However, despite their attempts the wall of ice held, separating them from the other two boys. The mist was thick around them, they couldn't see the others members of their group but from what they could tell Kratos and Kakashi were attempting to take on Zabuza, though it had become a tad more complicated being as Zabuza, wary of the angelic man after the previous battle, had a devious trick of sorts up his sleeve that managed to hamper both Kratos and Lloyd. Having observed in their earlier battle, Haku had concluded Kratos' unnaturally keen hearing and as a result deduced that a very high-pitched sound- akin to a dog whistle- would manage to disable him. Thus the two ronin had acquired a track of that nature and hid the speakers in the mist, which not only successfully hampered Kratos but made the dogs that Kakashi favored summoning all but useless. Kratos and Lloyd were not useless by any means, but the sound was certainly giving them a headache.

There were bigger problems right now, however.

One being that the blond within the cage was beginning to exude a rather sinister chakra.

"W- What the-?" Genis gasped, his eyes widening. "What's with that mana-?"

* * *

"Oh hell this can't be good…"

Mithos frowned deeply, half irritated and half afraid, examining the mass of mana that was becoming more red and less blue by the second.

"Okay….this is the exsphere, must be," he frowned, crossing his arms, "And that stupid fox's mana is getting absorbed into it….so the mana in it is going to me…'cause a lot of it is my mana anyway….so I'm guessing that means if our mana is switching places then-"

His eyes widened.

Wait a minute, if that was the case….that would mean that fox was being taken into the exsphere, right? So if that fox was being taken into the exsphere, then that had to mean he was being pushed out of the exsphere, and the only place that meant-

Oh hell no.

"Are you kidding? I do NOT want to be stuck in this kid for the rest of his life!" the half-elf shouted, red in the face. "Oh damn, I gotta stop this!"

Okay, he had to find a way to reverse this-

The mass gave a huge pulse, damn near knocking the half-elf to the ground.

"Wh-? Oh come on, what now?"

Outside in the real world, Naruto had begun to exude reddish chakra, the exsphere embedded in his neck beginning to glow a menacing crimson, the light seeming to enhance the effect. He choked and grasped his neck, breathing hard as his nails began to lengthen and tough, becoming more akin got that of claws, the whiskers marks on his face become more pronounced, deepening and widening into his skin as his already spiky hair began to take on a further feral appearance.

"What- what is this chakra?" Haku whispered to himself, horrified by the development. "It's not human…"

As if on cue, the blond boy jerked his gaze toward the mist-nin, his teeth elongated into fangs and his blue eyes morphed to dark red, the pupils becoming slits. In almost a nanosecond the orange clad boy had lunged at the mirror where Haku watched, the dark haired senbon user quickly leaping to the safety of another ice structure as the one he had just left shattered into a million pieces. Acting quickly Haku shot several senbon that embedded into Naruto's pressure points, temporarily freezing the blond. Haku breathed a short sigh of relief, thinking that the attack had killed the boy as it should have….until a blast of chakra not only blew out the needles in Naruto's body but proceeded to shatter the mirror Haku was in as well as every other mirror. Those in viewing distance could only watch on in stunned horror as the blond began to pulverize the mask-wearer with his fists, letting out animalistic calls and growls as he did so. Haku had already come to the realization he was going to lose, stopping dead in his tracks as his end ran toward him and his mask began to slip from his face…

* * *

"Come on come on!" Mithos shouted, gritting his teeth in frustration.

He had been trying to manipulate the mana to reverse the flow, to set his own mana back into the exsphere and expulse the red mana of the fox demon. This exsphere might have been a cage too, but at least that way he had a way to switch between people's bodies if he got lucky enough for the stone to be removed. He didn't want to spend any more time in this boy then he had to, and he was not letting that fox get a portable prison, that thing was annoying. The current was becoming erratic, the stream of mana to the exsphere had surged and then began to react in a most strange manner, blazing in and out of the mass that was the exsphere. Something was definitely going on with the boy, but he had to focus right now, he had to try to direct the mana back where it should be. He strained against it, growling to himself, trying to-

There was a sudden halt in the stream, he didn't know what it was, but he took advantage of it, using the momentary pause to manage to force the mana in the direction he wanted, red leaping out from the exsphere as blue mana from himself flew back into it.

* * *

Naruto's fist halted an inch before Haku's face. The boy had suddenly changed back to his normal self, his nails, hair, eyes and skin all returning to that of the whacky pre-teen they all knew. He stared in anger and shock at the boy whom merely stared back at him, awaiting the finishing blow which wasn't coming.

"…Why do you stop? I killed your comrade, did I not?" he whispered. "Kill me."

Naruto's eyes widened a second, shaking with anger as he punched him in the face, though with far less force then Haku expected or Naruto intended.

"Why do you hold back?" the mist-nin asked somberly. "I know you can kill me, so do it-"

"Why would you want to die, you idiot?" Naruto shouted. "Why? Why would anyone want to die? Do you think Sasuke wanted to die? Do you think if I kill you then it'll bring him back, huh? There's no point in dying!"

That was true, he knew it was true, he had heard it so many times….had come to believe it, cling to it, to get him by just as he clung to his ambition to be hokage. Besides, Lloyd would never let this go by, Lloyd would never let someone just die.

"I no longer have any use to the one who raised me," Haku stated, "What good is a broken tool? It is best I am thrown away, I have failed, I no longer have any purpose…do you understand what it is, to not be cared for or valued by any? Without my purpose, my use, I have no value to the one who values me...why then would I desire to keep living?"

"I- What do you mean? I don't understand!"

Haku told him his story, of how he came from a small village where it always snowed, how his father had killed his mother and tried to kill him as well because of his strange abilities. How he had had nothing and no one until Zabuza took him in, how because the ronin gave him a purpose he was entirely devoted to the man. Though it all those in earshot could only stare and listen to his story before the mist-nin asked once more that he be killed.

"Didn't you listen at all?" Lloyd snapped, breaking his silence. "There's no point in dying-!"

"There is no point in living without a reason," Haku responded dully.

"Then find a reason!" Lloyd snapped.

"Find…a reason-…." The boy cut off his eyes widening.

"…H- Haku-?" Naruto began.

The mist-nin gasped slightly and then disappeared from view, leaving the three boys slightly stunned. They whirled their heads around to see where he had gone and a second later the sound of a body being impaled met their ears. They all turned to the sound just as the mist cleared, showing what had occurred. In the fight between Kratos, Kakashi and Zabuza, it had ended up with Zabuza being restrained by Kratos as Kakashi had charged using his infamous chidori, a mass of chakra that cut like lightning. Kakashi had been attempting to finish Zabuza, but instead his hand had incinerated the chest cavity of Haku, who had leapt between the attack and his master as a human shield….

A few days later the group stood before two graves, one for each of the mist-nin they had seen die. Shortly after Haku had died, Gatou had shown up with his thugs, intent on finishing off all the weakened group solely because he didn't wish to pay the ronin for their services in attacking his targets. Seeing nothing left for him, Zabuza had charged in and killed Gatou and many of his men, before falling dead himself…but not before asking to be placed beside Haku to say his final goodbyes. The demon of the mist had quite the fatherly attachment to his ward, as he voiced shortly before he drew his last breath. With the help of the townspeople the thugs that remained had been scared off, and it seemed as if the land of mist was to be open to a bright new future. In fact, it appeared that the group themselves had not suffered any true losses, as Haku had not been cold enough to kill off the Uchiha in their midst. Sasuke had come to seconds after Zabuza's death, put into a 'false' death of sorts by means of Haku's senbon.

"I wonder…" Naruto muttered, gazing sadly at the graves, "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm?" the man asked.

"…What they said about ninjas being tools…that's not true, is it?"

"….The nature of it, yes, as it stands," Kakashi closed his eyes.

"Wh-?" Lloyd began.

"I know it's not the kind of thing you like to hear, Lloyd, but that's the reality of it," he said, glancing down at the brunette, "The world isn't ideal."

"Then we should try to change it!" Naruto and Lloyd shouted together.

The two exchanged glances before Naruto stammered, looking away from his friend and back at his teacher.

"S- Sure, we might not be able to make everything perfect, but we can at least try! And if we try then we can make things change, right?"

"…Hah hahahah!" Genis laughed, grinning. "Geez, Lloyd, he's starting to sound like you!"

"Indeed," Kratos smirked slightly.

"What can I say, I'm a good role model," Lloyd joked, rubbing the back of his neck, "But he is right, don't you think, Kakashi?"

"I'd like to think that too," Sakura smiled, nodding her head.

"Sounds silly to me, but I guess so…" Sasuke muttered, but was betrayed by a faint beginnings of a smirk on his face.

Naruto stared at them all before he grinned brightly, chuckling to himself and putting his hands behind his head.

"Well…I tell you one thing, before I get started on that I'm gonna need some ramen, I'm starving!"

"Well I suppose it'd be a miracle If that changed," Kakashi said.

"Totally," Lloyd said.

"Well of course dead-last has the attention span of- of-…" Sasuke grimaced a bit, cutting off in mid-insult, which of course was cause for concern.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura frowned, worry etched in her face. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm f-…" he frowned, beginning to scratch under his headband.

"Sasuke let me see that," Kakashi said sternly, stepping toward his pupil.

"I said I'm okay-" he snapped, then winced, scratching more.

Kakashi rolled his eyes and lifted the headband up on Sasuke's head, the Uchiha protesting briefly before he noted the faces of his companions. The mark that Madara had placed on his head had appeared again, glowing faintly.

"What is it-?" the boy began.

He cut off with a yelp, clutching his forehead tightly.

"Sasuke-?"

"Dammit!" Kakashi swore, attempting to hold the boy still.

They weren't quite sure what had happened next, but Kratos had positioned himself in front of Lloyd, whom had Genis half hiding behind him. The mark on Sasuke's head blared an angry red color and somehow the Uchiha managed to knock his sensei away, rushing to his blond teammate and grabbing Naruto's wrist, where the exsphere sat, having returned to its original blue color. Naruto gasped and tried to break away but whatever had happened to Sasuke had increased his strength, if his sudden death grip was any indication. Lloyd let out a shout as rather gut-wrenching sound met their ears. The blue exsphere was in Sasuke's hand, having been torn from Naruto's hand. The Aselian group's eyes widened in horror, knowing full well what had just happened. Naruto shouted and fell on the ground, twitching, while Sasuke with exsphere still in hand leapt out of reach, his eyes blank as his body shook and the mark on his forehead blared.

"Very good job, Sasuke," a voice said.

Madara appeared behind him, casually taking the stone and examining it.

"Worthless thing, couldn't even contain the kyuubi's chakra..." he scoffed, frowning, "I suppose the other method for obtaining the tailed beasts will be required...such a shame, this would have been far more easy.'

Sasuke jerked and fell onto the ground, the mark dissipating as the group took defensive stances, eying the intruder warily and half eying the convulsing Naruto.

"You-! You bastard, how the hell could you do this? You-!" Lloyd shouted, drawing a sword.

"Don't worry about the host," he shrugged, "Kyuubi's chakra is still fully contained in his body, it will force his chakra back to stability, if it didn't then the kyuubi would be destroyed as well. I assume that's what you're wondering, anyway, seeing as his chakra is rather erratic."

Lloyd jerked and looked toward his friend, who was jerking on the ground, Sakura at his side as he whimpered. Genis went to tell her to leave him alone, panicked, then realized that Madara was in fact, right, though Naruto appeared in pain, his body wasn't changing at all, though his mana WAS in a blitz. Ignoring them, Madara examined the stone again and scoffed, irritated.

"Piece of junk...worthless," he hissed, giving it a light toss toward the ocean.

There was a blur of red as Lloyd raced over and caught it before it began its descent, holding it tightly as he glared death at the ronin. Madara merely raised an eyebrow and then looked down at Sasuke's still form, smirking slightly before shaking his head.

"Well this was a waste of time...no matter, I'll get what I'm after eventually," he smirked.

With that he dissappeared without another word. They stared a moment before Lloyd ran to his friend's side, Kakashi going to check up on Sasuke in turn.

"Naruto, are you okay?" he asked, his eyes wide in concern.

"Y..yeah..." the blond gimaced, twitching a bit, "It...just hurt..."

"His ma- chakra's stablizing, I think," Genis said, walking over, "Wow..."

Kratos mused to himself the irony. Naruto did not turn into a monster because he already had one in him, feh, there were so many bittersweet moments in existence...he wasn't sure how he felt about it, though he assumed he had to be relieved Naruto would be well, but a tad bitter as well... Anna wasn't any sort of monster, you would think that would have saved her more than...

"I- I'll be okay, nii-san," Naruto forced a grin, sweating a bit, "I'm tougher than that!"

Lloyd smiled slightly, relieved, but the relief taking a while to override the lingering worry. He clutched his mother's exsphere tightly in his fist, happy both to have it back and that his friend was all right.

"It looks like it's worn off," Kakashi reported, having been examining Sasuke's forehead, "Madara placed it on him to take that stone- but I guess that's obvious now."

"He was attempting to extract the kyuubi?" Kratos asked simply.

"Seems like it," Kakashi nodded, "Something went wrong, then...well, that works to our favor at least."

"Is Sasuke okay now?" Sakura asked, paling somewhat.

"Should be, we'll have him checked when we get back to Konoha, just in case."

"Oh...good..." Lloyd sighed.

So everyone was all right, thank goodness. This place was hectic for sure...which was actually quite similar to back home. He missed it, and he wanted to go back, of course, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel attachment for the friends he had here, and he was spending time with his father, too, right? ..He wasn't sure when they'd be able to leave, or how to tell them he was leaving, but he'd stick around while he had to. Naruto was slowly making friends, so hopefully when the time came to say goodbye, he'd be able to keep going with his own life too...

"Well...so everyone's all right and that guy isn't still around, right? Can we relax now?" Genis asked with a nervous smile.

"A ninja must never relax," Kakashi stated with a slight smirking tone.

"Well I'm not a ninja so there," Genis huffed.

They were cut off by a loud rumbling, eyes darting to Naruto.

"...Probably not the best time to ask but can we get ramen now?" he asked.

Lloyd face-palmed.

Yeah, he'd be all right...

**FINALLY it's DONE! Again, sorry for both the wait and 'quality' or lack thereof, I tried to do it the best I could, and I know it could've b een better, but ...man this is one of the few fics I hated when I ended it. Guess there's a first time for everything...nonetheless I hope this was enough to be entertaining at least, and I'm sorry if it wasn't :( Thank you all for reading anyway, and have a good day n.n**

**Never writing a naruto fic again...neevveeerrr...(cringe)**


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